


Looking For Turtles

by KristaBunny



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe- Laurens works at a pet shop ok, Bisexual Alexander Hamilton, Don't Read This, Gay, Gay Hercules Mulligan, Gay John Laurens, Gay Lafayette, Gay pretty much everyone, Lams - Freeform, M/M, Modern AU, Turtles, i honestly don't know what i'm doing, like I'm keeping it up so I can brag about the kudos and hits but I hate it, minor homophobia, please don't read it seriously, this fanfic sucks, very bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 21,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22150048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristaBunny/pseuds/KristaBunny
Summary: Alexander Hamilton has just moved into the USA and is already known for being loud, arrogant, and obnoxious. Nothing new here.His foster home has refused to give him anything, so he must find any work possible just to survive. When he is tasked by his family to go and buy a turtle for his foster sister, he doesn't have a choice, so he goes. But little does he know that he'll meet the love of his life there- specifically in the Turtles aisle of a large pet store.jesus christ I wrote this so long ago and it's embarrassing but I can't delete it since it's my most successful work
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette/Hercules Mulligan
Comments: 117
Kudos: 162





	1. Chapter 1

_Turtles_ , Alexander thought, looking up at the ceiling of the large shopping mall, _Where the hell am I supposed to find a turtle in this place?_

He glanced around the immediate area, looking for anything to help him navigate this labyrinth of shops- a map, employee, or even a friendly stranger. He saw a large, light-up board next to a holiday kiosk selling sausages, and made his way across to it. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed found to be a large map of the shopping complex. Alexander’s eyes skimmed over the list of venues until they landed on a store that seemed like it would have turtles- “Henry’s Pet Emporium” at store A12. He glanced at the corresponding dot on the map, labeled A12, committing it to memory before setting off to the store.

Five minutes of walking later, Alexander found himself in front of Henry’s Pet Emporium, a rather flashy-looking store with many animal cages displayed in the front window, and a tacky-looking balloon dog with a collar reading what was apparently the store’s slogan, “The Best Pets for The Best Customers!”.

 _Ew, what a stupid slogan,_ Alexander thought with contempt, taking his first tentative steps into the pet store. _This place looks like a circus inside._

He wasn’t even incorrect. The interior was just as gaudy as the exterior, with huge banners written in glittery letters reading the different types of pets sold. There were large, saturated pictures of the pets of the owner’s family, that looked like they’d been put through some stupid pop-art Snapchat filter covering two of the walls. It seemed that one of the walls was devoted to the owners’ son’s pets, while the other was devoted to all the other pets in the family.

Alexander noticed, astute as ever, that there were many more pets on the son’s wall than on the other, and at least 70% of them were various species of turtles.

He made his way over to the aisle labeled “TURTLES AND AQUATIC ANIMALS” in large, glittery blue letters, where he was astonished to see at least seven types of turtles swimming around their tanks or lying on rocks. A teenager who looked about Alexander’s age, 16 or so, with curly brown hair and a freckled face, was organizing the turtle food on the opposite shelf while humming a soft tune to the turtles.

  
And damn, he was _cute._


	2. Chapter 2

The boy didn’t notice Alexander and continued to hum the tune to the turtles, occasionally stopping to talk to one or ask how it was doing. It was cute, in kind of a strange-turtle-geek way, how he would say things like “Hey, Haley! How you doin’ today?” to the turtles. 

The boy looked up from saying hi to Haley the Turtle and jumped in surprise. 

“Oh! S-sorry! I mean- hi! I mean-!” the boy stammered, his freckles now highlighted by a flush of pink on his cheeks. “Er, hello! Welcome to Henry’s pet emporium. My name is John, how may I help you today?”

Alexander chuckled. _Cute,_ he thought, _he must be new here or something._ _Still, he looks oddly… familiar._

“So, what can I get for you?” the boy- John, said.

“Oh, well, I’m supposed to get a turtle for someone.”

John’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Ooh, do you like turtles? They’re such beautiful animals- fascinating, too! So many different species and types, all different colors! My favorite is personally the Indian Tent Turtle, they have vaulted shells that look really cool! You can usually tell that’s what they are because of the shell and they have one or two brownish or red dots behind their eyes. Or else, they would look like the Indian roofed turtles, which have crescent-shaped red marks. They’re really small and cute, too!”

Alexander didn’t have the heart to tell him that he didn’t know anything about turtles and that he was only there because his new foster parents demanded he go out and get one for their spoiled daughter, so he smiled and indulgently allowed him to continue.

“They’re also known as the indian pinked ring tent turtle, because they have pink bands on the seams of their carapace. They also have some pink markings on the prominent projections on the keel! It’s really cool, although I’ve never seen one in person, since they’re native to Central and Northern India, as well as Western Bangladesh and Southern Nepal. Since America sure isn’t Bangladesh, I have to settle for reading about them, but someday I’d really like to go there and see one! They apparently make great pets, too…”

Alexander checked his watch, which was apparently a sign of boredom in America. Oops. 

John flushed into an even brighter shade of pink. “O-oh, sorry! I was rambling, huh…? I didn’t mean to bore you! I… I just like turtles.”

Alexander chuckled, which surprised him. He hadn’t laughed since he was ten, and now he’d laughed twice in a single hour. This John guy was weird.

“Well, actually, I don’t know what type to get… I was just told to get ‘A turtle’. One that a six year old girl won’t kill, I guess?” he asked awkwardly, “Sorry... this is a weird question…”

John’s expression immediately changed from one of flustered apology to intense seriousness. His eyes narrowed and he scratched his head, deep in thought. “Well, I would go with a red-eared slider turtle. If this girl is really committed, they do live for a while, so you’d have to make sure she doesn’t get bored of it. They’re not particularly friendly, but not too feisty either. And if they’re raised in captivity, like Haley here, they can be pretty nice. In fact, Haley’s been here a while, she’s already ten, so she’s got about ten years left… she could be good for a six year old.”

_ Wow,  _ was pretty much all Alexander could think.  _ This dude knows his stuff… but why does he look so familiar…? _

That’s when it hit him. He’d been talking to the owner’s son this entire time… John Laurens, son of Henry Laurens, billionaire and owner of Henry’s Pet Emporium.

He, Alexander Hamilton, a poor, orphaned bastard, had been talking to the son of a billionaire.

  
_ Shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here it is... I'm kind of trying to get at least 3 chapters out fast so people will actually look at this. I hope? Please comment...


	3. Chapter 3

John didn’t seem to notice Alexander’s dumbfounded expression and continued to explain the care of the turtle. 

“You’ll want to get a tank, of course,” he explained, “And then for a brand of food, I’d recommend these- I feed this one to my turtles. It’s the best type. It’s a little on the pricey side, but I’m not sure how Haley would adjust to the cheap food. Do you have a budget for this trip?”

Alexander shook his head. “I’m just here to buy everything necessary, they said. They handed me a wad of bills and told me to get out of the house.”

John looked slightly taken aback by this, but managed to keep up a professional smile. “Okay. I’d go with this brand then, and a tank like this one over here. As for rocks and decorations, there’s a nice starter kit over there. I used it with my first turtle, Harry,” he looked at his feet, blushing. “Don’t ask why I named a turtle Harry, ok?”

“...okay.”

The freckled boy grabbed a tank from the top shelf, which was about six feet from the ground, only having to stretch a little to reach. He held it out to Alexander and was probably about to start another full explanation of the merits of this type of tank until he saw Alexander’s shell-shocked expression. 

“H-hey… You okay?” he bent down a bit, trying to make eye contact with the much shorter teenager. The eyebrows above his greenish-brown eyes were furrowed in concern. 

“Well…” Alexander, for the first time in his life, was having difficulty figuring out what to say. “Um… I just… you’re John Laurens, right?”

John cocked his head in confusion. “Yeah…? Did I tell you my last name? How do you know me?”

“I saw your picture in the newspaper. You did that petition at that private middle school to abolish required hairstyles, since a lot of African-Americans weren’t able to straighten their hair into the ‘proper’ way.” 

Alexander’s voice was tinged with admiration for this boy, who stood up and did the right thing for a minority he wasn’t even part of. With his privilege, it would’ve been easy for John just to ignore it. But he hadn’t.

John scratched his head and flushed bright pink, his freckles lit up by the pink undertones. “Oh, that…? I’m not sure why I get credit for that. Any decent human being would’ve done the same.” 

“And yet they didn’t,” Alexander pointed out.

“Well, anyway, that’s all in the past now, right? I’m not in middle school anymore. Come on, this tank is getting heavy. I’ll help you carry all this to the cash register.”

For some reason, Alexander didn’t want to leave the store yet- there was just something about John that made him want to stay in the store for the whole day chatting with him, joking and goofing around, which he’d never felt before. Why would he want to waste time with some random turtle-loving pet store employee he just met? But all the same, he  _ did  _ want to keep talking to this charismatic boy… he wanted to be friends, or possibly even  _ something more. _ The thought terrified him, but… he couldn’t resist. Every time he looked into the boy’s eyes, he got handsomer. Every time John opened his mouth, Alexander fell for him deeper… 

Before he could rethink what he was about to do, he opened his mouth and shouted something that he was sure he’d regret.

He said, “W-wait… can I have your number?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowwwww that was bad. I kind of pressured myself to finish 3 chapters in a day, so I didn't edit this one or anything. It's bad compared to the previous chapters. Sorry.  
> UPDATE: Deleted chapter titles because I wasn't sure if i could come up with one for every chapter lol


	4. Chapter 4

John’s eyes widened in surprise, but only for a millisecond. His face quickly reverted to his usual laid-back expression, and he gave Alexander an easygoing smile. 

“Sure! Here it is.” He took out his phone, an iPhone 10 with a green phone strap with a turtle-shell pattern on it. He pulled up his contacts list, and Alexander did the same with his cheap old flip phone. If John was surprised by the other boy’s phone, he hid it well, simply asking, “What’s your number?”

Alexander gave it to him, and John did the same. They programmed each other’s contacts, Alexander putting in “Turtle Boi John” for the contact name. The freckled boy paused while filling out the new contact.

“Heh, I actually didn’t catch your name…” he laughed, scratching his head sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Alexander Hamilton.”

John smiled, his eyes scrunching up in happiness. “Nice to meet you, Alexander! I hope we see each other again sometime soon. If you don’t mind me asking, what high school do you attend?”

Alexander was torn. Should he admit he’d only just come to the US? He didn’t want to ruin his impression, have John think of him with contempt… or even worse,  _ pity. _ So he decided to go with a half-truth. 

“Oh, I’m transferring to Miranda High School this monday, actually.”

The taller boy’s eyes widened and his smile stretched even wider. “Really? That’s the school I go to! Cool!” 

Alexander couldn’t believe his good luck. Not only had he met a really nice (and cute) boy on this seemingly stupid and uselss errand, but he’d be attending school with him! They could be friends, eat lunch together… it would be amazing! Maybe America wouldn’t be so bad after all…

However, Alexander’s joy was short-lived. John was extremely charismatic and friendly, he was probably really popular at his school. He’d say things like “Wow, we can be friends now!”, but Alexander predicted that he’d be too embarrassed to speak to the  _ new kid _ on Monday. He wasn’t sure what American high school was like, but from the books he’d found that featured it, they seemed like vicious hellholes with strict social hierarchy and unwritten rules that new kids usually messed up within the first five minutes at their new school. 

“Wow, that  _ is  _ cool… someone I already know’ll be at the school. Nice,” Alexander said quietly, trying not to sound to overly excited. He didn’t want to seem desperate, especially to this boy, who Alexander found himself not wanting to disappoint, for some reason…

John frowned. “Why do you look so disappointed? I was hoping we could be friends… I could introduce you to my group!” the freckled boy checked his watch, an expensive-looking Rolex with a turtle-shell motif. “Oh, nice! My shift’s over now, wanna go to the café nearby? It’s really good. My treat!”

The idea of free food was, as he’d grown up with an  _ extremely  _ tight budget, a deal-breaker. Plus, John seemed really nice… it wouldn’t hurt if he was a bit late, right? 

“Sure!” Alexander beamed, “That’d be fun!”

John and Alexander headed over to an empty cash register, where John started ringing up the turtle supplies. The total came to $50.75, which was strange-- Alexander was sure the tank alone was more than that. The other boy noticed Alexander’s confusion and smiled. 

“Friend discount,” he explained, “I’ve already given ‘em to Laffy and Herc, and since you’re my friend now, you get one too!”

Alexander wasn’t sure that cashiers were allowed to just give out random discounts, but as John  _ was  _ the CEO’s son, he supposed there must be special exceptions. Plus… anything to save money. 

“Thanks.”

The tall, freckled boy grabbed the tank and carried it out while the shorter one carried the bag of supplies. John easily hefted the large glass box, holding it up to his chest, while Alexander struggled just to carry the bag of supplies. 

“Sorry for having you help me, John,” Alexander told him, “It’s really kind of you.”

John blushed, his freckles lighting up with the pink undertones now flushing his cheeks. “Oh, no problem. It’s no big deal.”

*****

The two walked into an elegant-looking french café, with a pretty sign reading “Café Myriade” in elegant cursive writing. The interior was decorated with cozy booths and tables, abstract paintings of the Eiffel Tower, and smelled like coffee and freshly baked pastries. It was fairly empty, the only people there being an elderly couple and two teenage boys sitting at a booth in the corner. One had short, close-cropped dark hair while the other wore his long in a messy bun. 

“Laf! Hercules!” John shouted upon seeing them, “Hey! Didn’t expect to see you here!” John and Alexander made their way over to the table, stopping in front of it. 

The long-haired one stood up, and Alexander let out a low sigh.  _ So many tall people.  _

“John,  _ Mon ami _ , who is this? Your boyfriend?” the boy laughed and winked at John, causing Alexander to blush. 

John laughed it off, although not before the shorter boy noticed his cheeks flush a bright pink. “No, nothing like that, Lafayette. This is Alexander. He was looking for turtles.” He said the last sentence as if that explained everything, and probably, in his mind at least, it did. “Alexander, this is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier. We just call him Lafayette, though, or Laf.” 

The boy with the shorter hair, who’d been quiet for a while, finally spoke up, smiling at Alexander. “Hey, Alexander. I’m Hercules Mulligan.”

_ Hercules?  _ Alexander thought incredulously,  _ that’s a weird name.  _

He didn’t say that out loud, though. Alexander had learned years ago at his first foster home that speaking your mind was first on the list of “Things Not To Do if You Want A Social Life (At The Expense of Honesty and Pride)”.

Hercules smiled, though, and laughed as if he’d read Alexander’s mind. “Yeah,  _ Hercules _ , I know. It’s a pretty weird name. Still not sure what my parents were thinking, honestly.”

Before Alexander could stop himself, he blurted out, “Yeah, I’m not sure what they were thinking either.” 

Realizing what he’d just said, he clamped a hand over his mouth.  _ Shit.  _ So much for his social life, huh… He scrunched his eyes closed and waited for everyone to start yelling at him.

They didn’t. Instead, Alexander heard… laughing. He opened his eyes to see the group cracking up, and Lafayette was hanging onto the table to keep from falling on the floor. 

“John, _ ton ami est drôle _ !” Lafayette said between giggles.  _ John, your friend is funny,  _ is what Alexander thought he’d said. He hadn’t had practice using French in a while, but he was pretty sure that was what he’d said.

“ _ Oui, je suis en effet hilarant, _ ”Alexander joked, “ _ C'est si hilarant. _ ”

John and Hercules gaped while Lafayette’s eyes lit up. “ _ Tu parle français? _ ”

“ _ Oui. _ ” Alexander laughed as Lafayette let out a high-pitched squeal and grabbed Alexander, shaking him happily. 

Hercules chuckled. “Oi, Alexander, stop stealing my boyfriend,” he chided, only half-joking.

Now it was Alexander’s turn to gape. That was legal in the US? In Nevis, you could be sent to prison for ten years for it.  _ Although, I suppose,  _ he thought sadly,  _ I didn’t exactly grow up in a very advanced place.  _ He did suppose this  _ was  _ the country that had whole parades for gay people, so of course it was legal. 

“Oh, sorry, Hercules,” Alexander said quickly, pulling away from Lafayette’s hold. 

Alexander didn’t notice that John had glared playfully at Lafayette as if to say “Yeah, this one’s  _ mine _ . I found him first.”

Lafayette laughed and sat back down in his seat, and beckoned for the two remaining boys to sit down with them. John sat down across from Lafayette, while Alexander sat next to John. 

When Lafayette and Hercules found out Alexander would be going to their high school, they were overjoyed. The immediately started planning out Alexander’s first day there, the tour they’d give him before class, and where they’d sit.

Hercules told him all about the different teachers, “Mr. Washington is the best teacher, he teaches History and English, then there’s the principal, Mr. Schuyler, he had some sort of other job before here, because he’s hella rich-”, while Lafayette gave him the briefing on the different students at school, “There’s the Schuyler sisters, they’re the daughters of the principal, and there’s Samuel Seabury, this weird kid who preaches about how gay people need jesus in the middle of the lunchroom, there’s Charles Lee, we don’t talk about him-- oh yeah, there’s Jefferson and Madison… and-”

Alexander found himself having the best time of his life, sitting at a café table with his new friends, and was so absorbed in the conversation that he almost didn’t notice when his watch alarm went off, telling him it was time to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whewww this one's a bit longer lol  
> I hope y'all enjoyed. So in the next chapter, I'm actually not sure what to do for Alex's foster parents, so I might just kind of gloss over them... unless any of you have suggestions, lol :)  
> Thank you all so much for the support!  
> Sorry they're still kinda short  
> Please comment, it keeps me motivated to write these


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I changed Mai into a 6 year old because someone pointed out that her conversation skills were a bit better than a 4 year old.

By the time Alexander reached his foster parents’ house, it was already after 7 o’clock. Dinner had probably already been served, and his foster family had been pretty clear on the rules: If you miss dinner, you’ll fend for yourself.

Alexander didn’t mind, though. John had treated him to an eclair at the café, a sizeable one at that. Probably bigger than the dinner he would’ve got. 

He unlocked the door and was stepping in to the front hall when his foster sister, Mai, ran down the stairs. Mai’s parents were immigrants who’d moved to the US about two years ago, so they were still learning English and had wanted a big brother figure for Mai who could teach her English.

Alexander was the solution.

_ Could be worse, though,  _ Alexander thought as he untied his shoes,  _ Mai’s learning English fast, and she’s pretty nice.  _

“Welcome home,  _ onii-chan _ !” Mai squealed, wrapping her arms around Alexander’s legs. “Did you get the turtle?”

_ Onii-chan,  _ or “big brother” in Japanese, was what Mai had taken to calling Alexander, despite her parent’s protests. When they spoke Japanese to each other, they had said things like, “No, he’s not your big brother, he’s more like a live-in babysitter.”

Little did they know that Alexander was picking up on Japanese fast.

“Yeah, I got the turtle, Mai,” Alexander chuckled, prying her off of his legs. “Her name’s Haley, and a nice boy named John gave us a discount.”

“You’re blushing,  _ onii-chan _ !”

“Am not.”

“Are too! Look in a mirror!”

Alexander looked in the mirror in the bathroom next to the front hall. Sure enough, his cheeks were bright red. 

“...it’s just the cold.”

Mai didn’t argue further, probably because her six-year-old mind was bored of the topic. 

Alexander grabbed the tank (and Haley) and lugged it up into Mai’s room, setting it up on the small table her parents had bought for it. Mai flung the bag of supplies on her bag and plopped down onto the edge, bouncing slightly. 

Alexander filled the tank and set it up according to the instructions while Mai played with Haley, petting her shell and letting her run around on her bed. 

“Awww, Haley’s so cute!” Mai squealed again, petting the small turtle’s head. 

“Almost as cute as John.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Mai grabbed Haley and placed her on the floor. “I’m not deaf,  _ onii-chan _ ,” she sighed exasperatedly, “You were talking about the turtle guy.”

Alexander tightened his jacket defensively. “So what if I was?”

“You liiiiiike him.”

“Do not!”

“Do too.”

“Do not!”

“Do too.”

“...do not!”

Mai picked Haley up and pushed her at Alexander until Haley’s face was right in front of his. “Even Haley knows you do! Right, Haley?”

Haley turned her head slowly and tucked her back flippers into her shell.

“That means ‘yes’ in Turtleish!”

Alexander didn’t think ‘Turtleish’ was a language, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to argue with the little powerhouse of a child. Instead, he sighed and nodded, which was his go-to answer when Mai said something ridiculous. 

“So, what does this John guy look like?” Mai asked curiously, sitting back down on her bed and ushering for him to sit in her desk chair. (Translation:  _ Talk, puny mortal _ .)

“He has longish hair, and freckles… he’s tall. Really tall.”

“Unlike you.” 

Oof. Mai knew where to hit him to make it hurt.

Alexander sighed. “Yes, unlike me. He’s very kind, and pretty rich, I think, not that it matters. He’ll be going to the school I’m going to.”

“Oooh, cool. Do you think he likes you?”

“Nah, he’s probably straight.”

“What’s that?”  
“The opposite of gay.”

“What’s gay?”

Alexander chuckled at her childish innocence. “So you know how your mommy and daddy are a man and a woman?”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re straight, you’re a man who likes women or a woman who likes men.”

“Ooooh, I get it. So if you’re gay, you’re a man who likes men or a woman who likes women.”

“Loosely speaking. A lot of women who like women prefer to be called lesbian, though, which means a woman who likes women.”

Mai bounced slightly on her bed, causing her pastel pink blankets to rumple. “ ‘Kay. Does that mean I can marry my friend Claire?”

“If you want to, when you’re old enough.”

“Cool! Boys are lame.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Mai bounced a bit harder, causing one of her pillows to fall off the bed. “You’re an exception, Alex. You’re my big brother!”

A strange feeling washed over Alexander, causing him to break out in a cold sweat. “No… I’m not.”

Mai paused her bouncing, looking up at Alexander. “Yeah you are! Mommy and Daddy are fostering you, right?”

“Yeah, so I can teach you English. You’ve got English down by now, they have no more use for me.”

“Oh, that’s it? I talked to them. They said that they’ll keep you if I really want them to,” Mai said, unconcerned. She resumed bouncing on her bed.

It was then that Alexander’s stomach decided it would be a good idea to rumble loudly. Mai heard it and stopped bouncing, surprised, before she started giggling. 

“You’re hungry.”

“No, I ate an eclair earlier.”

“Mommy and Daddy said that sweets don’t keep you full for long. Come down and have some left over pasta.”

Alexander smiled fondly at the little girl. “Heh, okay, Mai. But first you should put Haley away.”

As Alexander made his way down the stairs, for the first time, he felt at home. While Mai’s parents weren’t interested in being parental figures to Alexander, Mai still seemed to be interested in being a little sister to him… and he had to admit, it felt good to be someone’s big brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol I posted this during class  
> Wow that was hella wholesome.  
> Like wow I was planning on making it sadder and having Mai be meaner, but I decided to make it a bit different. You didn't actually get to meet Mai's parents, sorry. Maybe in the next chapter.  
> I hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof sorry it's late  
> Also I'm aware that nobody liked the last chapter, I didn't like it either.

It was 6:00 am, at least by Alexander’s old, worn-out watch, meaning it was about time for Mai to barge into his room and scream, “IT’S MONDAY,  _ ONII-CHAN! _ ”

And sure enough, she did. Alexander had just finished putting his pants on when his door was practically kicked out of his frame, and a familiar six-year-old in pink tights ran into the room.

“Geez, Mai. I’m trying to get dressed here,” Alexander said exasperatedly. “How many times do I have to tell you to knock?”

Mai smirked. “As many times as you want. Can’t promise that it’ll work, though.”

“...where are you learning that sass, Mai?”

“You.”

“What? Impossible,” Alexander said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He reminded himself to stop being sarcastic and sassy around Mai. If he kept this up, she’d be saying the f-word by five. 

Mai grabbed Haley the Turtle and shoved her in Alexander’s face. “Haley says good morning! Now go wash up! Do you want that Johnny Loren guy to see you like this?”

“...his name is John Laurens.”

Mai shrugged. “Same difference.”

Alexander sighed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He turned on the shower and waited for it to warm up while brushing his hair, and then stepped in and let the warm water wash over him. 

About five minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom to see Mai tapping her foot impatiently. 

“ _ Onii-chan _ , do you really think you’ll impress Lorenz Johns like that? You look like a hobo who jumped into a fountain, came out, and brushed his hair backwards.”

Alexander looked at himself in the mirror and indeed, his hair was sticking out in different directions. He brushed it quickly and went down to make some breakfast.

Soon enough, the smell of (albeit slightly burnt) scrambled eggs filled the kitchen, and Mai’s mother, Shiori, came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Her husband was probably already at work.

“Oh, Alexander, thank you for making breakfast,” she said, smiling in his general direction for a moment or so before coming up to Mai.

“Mai, are you all ready for school today?” Shiori kneeled down, scooping Mai into a hug and kissing her on the cheek. Mai squirmed uncomfortably and sighed.

“Mommy, it’s almost seven. I need to eat breakfast.”

Mai’s mom sighed, no doubt a bit hurt by Mai’s attitude. Alexander felt a twinge of sympathy, not because he could understand how it felt to be snubbed by your own child, but he’d had similar experiences with his father before he left. He’d been distant and cold, until one day he just went out to work one day and didn’t come back.

Mai plopped down onto her seat and began shoveling food into her mouth. She showed no signs of caring at all about how burnt the eggs were, and finished in an amount of time that could give an eating contest champion a run for his money. “I’m doneee! Can I go to the park and play with  _ onii-chan _ now?”

Shiori looked up briefly from the papers she was going through. “Sure, sweetie. Just make sure to stay safe.”

“Uh-huh,” Mai said, pulling on her boots. She hadn’t listened past the “sure”. 

Alexander put on his own shoes, a worn-out pair of converse. There were holes in the toes, but he had warm socks, so it would probably be fine. 

He stepped out onto the front porch and breathed in the cold, crisp winter air. Christmas lights twinkled, hanging from the roofs of houses around the neighborhood. Alexander hadn’t celebrated Christmas in years, but he still couldn’t help feeling a bit uplifted by the glittering lights everywhere. Mai skipped along the sidewalk, her breath clouding in the air, leaving footprints in the frost on the ground. She hummed a soft tune while skipping, something that sounded suspiciously like, “Alexander likes Lauren Johns~”

He didn’t bother to tell her that his name was John Laurens,  _ not  _ Lauren Johns. She wouldn’t listen anyway, and he had a sneaking suspicion that Mai was doing it on purpose.

They reached the park after a few minutes of walking, and Mai raced over to the frost-covered playground and began to jump around on it, no doubt pretending to be a pirate, or a princess, or a rabbit, or a rabbit pirate princess. Alexander checked his watch again, and it read 7:02. It was just an hour before school, and he’d promised his friends he’d be there by 7:30. Mai might just have to cut her playtime short. 

He sighed. It would be nice to see John, Lafayette, and Hercules again, but he was still a bit apprehensive about what the new year would bring. From Lafayette’s description of the students, it seemed there were more bad than good.

A hand tapped him on the soldier, and he turned around to see John standing behind him, beaming brightly. 

“John? What’re you doing here?” Alexander asked.

John laughed. “You don’t have to sound so  _ disappointed _ , Alex. I was just walking to school when I saw you here. I figured we could walk together…” he blushed and looked at his feet, “That is, if you want to.”

“Of course I want to, just gimme a sec. I’ll get Mai.”

“Mai?”

“She’s my foster sister.”

Alexander walked over to the frosty playground and yelled up at Mai, who was standing on the top floor. 

“Mai! We have to go!”

Mai looked disappointed, but nevertheless slid down a twisty purple slide and landed at the edge of the playground. She skipped up to John, while Alexander followed.

“Hi, are you Lauren Johns?” she asked, a hint of a smirk the only sign to clue him in to the conversation she’d had with Alexander the night before. “Alexander told me alllllll about you.”

John laughed and scratched his head sheepishly. “Is that so?”

“Oh, Mai, shut up,” Alexander had caught up with Mai by then, and clamped his hand over her mouth. She slapped it away and twirled around.

“You’re embarrassed,” she observed.

“...no shit.”

Mai pointed excitedly. “Oooh! Alexander said a no-no word!”

“Yes, he did indeed,” John punched Alexander on the arm lightly. “You need to be a good influence, Alex.”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “She’s a lost cause, though…”

“I am  _ not _ ! You’re just saying that because you wanna impress him because you  _ like _ -”

Mai trailed off, realizing what she’d just said. Alexander was glaring daggers at her, while John just looked slightly bemused. 

“A-anyway!” Alexander said, a bit too forcefully, “W-we should get going!”

“Yep!”

The group walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Mai skipping down the frosty sidewalk while John and Alexander followed in a calmer fashion. 

Soon enough, Mai reached her elementary school and bid farewell, and Alexander finally felt that he could talk freely to John. Before Alexander could organize his slurry of thoughts, though, John spoke.

“Your sister really is something, isn’t she?” John’s breath clouded in the chilly air as he spoke, and he fiddled with a loose strand of curly hair. 

Alexander almost flinched at the word  _ sister.  _ He still wasn’t exactly used to the word, especially applied to Mai. The words of Mai’s parents still echoed in his mind, like dreams that you can’t forget, no matter how hard you try.

_ He’s more like a live-in babysitter _ .

“She’s not really my sister,” he said after taking a deep breath. “Her parents are just fostering me for a bit.”

John’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “But… doesn’t that make her your foster sister?”

“...I guess,” Alexander admitted, looking up at John. The taller boy’s freckled face wore an expression of concern, and his eyes were brimming with sympathy. 

“Have you had… bad experiences with foster families?” he asked, placing his hand on the shorter boy’s shoulder. Alexander flinched. 

“O-oh, sorry,” John took a step away from Alexander. “You don’t have to tell me.”

Alexander sighed. He  _ did  _ want to tell him, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready… and either way, he was bound to find out eventually. He gulped down air, and with it the phrase that was about to leave his mouth and spill out into the air like word vomit. He didn’t want John to think he was some sort of sob-story pity-seeker.

“It’s nothing.”

The two teenagers walked for a few more minutes in silence, but not a comfortable one like before. This silence was filled with tension and regret; confusion and anxiety. 

When the two finally reached the school, Alexander was in a dismal mood once again. What was the point in making friends here when he’d probably have to change foster families once Mai’s family got bored of him, so he was just getting attached to people he’d have to leave.

Nevertheless, time continued to tick, and Alexander continued to walk. Before he knew it, they were there, standing at the front gates of Miranda High School.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowwww, I wasn't sure where I was going with this lol. Sorry that it's a little late, and I know my newest chapter wasn't exactly popular because there wasn't any John and too much Mai (who nobody cares about because she's just a side character anyway lol).  
> I hope there was enough lams for y'all, the chapter is bad and a bit jumbled but ok I guess. I was pretty late making it, so I decided not to edit and just send it out as-is.  
> I hope you enjoyed, and please comment. It keeps me motivated.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Uhhh I wasn't really sure where I was going with this so yeah... I'm going to start a poll that will be linked in the next chapter asking whether I should start posting twice a week instead of every two days in order to increase the length and quality of my writing.

Students milled about the front courtyard of the school, their footsteps a regular beat in the melody of the school. A small, scrawny kid stood on top of a table, preaching something about gay people “needing jesus”. 

_ Must be that Samuel Seabury guy,  _ Alexander thought, casually flipping him off as he passed him. John noticed and laughed before following suit.

A crisp winter breeze blew through the quad, and Alexander shivered, hugging his arms. 

“Are you cold, Alex?” John asked, looking over Alexander’s meager winter outfit: Worn-out converse, a pair of worn, ripped jeans, and a ratty, threadbare hoodie. John himself was wearing a designer parka, fleece pants, a woolen scarf, and a pair of warm boots, and he looked quite warm and comfortable-- as well as handsome.

“N-no, I’m fine,” Alexander said, his teeth chattering and breath clouding through the air. Another gust of wind blew through the quad, and Alexander shivered again, which didn’t exactly help his case.

“No, you’re not.” John’s eyes were brimming with concern. “You could get sick, running around during 20-degree weather in holey converse and a worn-out hoodie.” John began to take his scarf off, untying an elaborate knot and letting it come loose. He took it and began to put it on Alexander, gently wrapping the white scarf around his neck and letting it drape on his shoulders.

“Here, wear this. It’s pretty warm,” John told him, attempting to redo the elaborate knot that he’d had it in. He tried about two times, both attempts resulting in strange, tangled mess of wool. He sighed and said sheepishly, “Sorry, I’m not sure how to redo the knot. I had to video call Herc just to do it this morning…” he blushed, his freckles now highlighted with pink undertones.

Alexander tightened the scarf a bit and felt his face thaw from the warmth of the scarf. It was fluffy and warm, and Alexander instantly felt cozy and comfortable. Sensing the shorter boy’s pleasure, John beamed, happy to help.

“You can keep it if you want,” John offered. “I’ve got another at home.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t…” Alexander protested.

“Why not?” John asked, looking legitimately confused.

“Well, I can’t just take your stuff!”

“...why not?”

Alexander shook his head, wondering why the taller boy somehow couldn’t understand. “Isn’t it obvious? I can’t just take your stuff for free!”

John’s face relaxed. “Sure you can. There’s no law against it, and isn’t that what friends are for?”

Alexander shook his head. Maybe giving away something wasn’t a big deal for a rich kid like John, but how was he supposed to pay John back? He’d come out of it owing him, and Alexander  _ hated  _ owing people.

John sighed, his breath clouding through the freezing air. “Look, if it bothers you that much, just think of it as an early Christmas present.”

“Fine.”

Alexander and John continued walking towards the library, where they had agreed to meet Lafayette and Hercules. They reached the large, ugly stone building, and John pushed open the heavy metal doors. 

It was a pretty normal-looking library, with rows of bookshelves lining the walls, several desks, and a storage unit filled with charging laptop computers. But to Alexander, it was heaven on Earth; a place of learning. The chromebooks that other students wouldn’t give a second glance were filled with infinite knowledge, and the textbooks that were torture devices to many were tomes of learning. At a small table in the corner, Lafayette sat on the table, doing something on his phone, while Hercules sat in a chair, sketching something Alexander couldn’t make out.

When Lafayette saw the two boys approach, he stood up, put his phone down, and started waving frantically. Hercules looked up from his sketch and grinned.

“ _ Mes amis!  _ There you are!” Lafayette grinned brightly and grabbed Alexander by the arm, dragging him over to the table. John followed, seating himself next to Hercules.

“Whatcha drawing, Herc?” he asked, peering over his shoulder to try and see what it was.

Hercules smiled devilishly and quickly covered it up. He smirked and said mysteriously, “You’ll see eventually.”

Neither Alexander nor John noticed Lafayette and Hercules exchange secretive smiles, or the fact that Hercules’s notebook that held the sketch had the words “Operation: Turtle Boi x Alexander”. 

They also didn’t notice that the app open on Lafayette’s phone was Messages, and it was in a group chat by the same name as Hercules’s notebook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HoooOooO boi I wrote that all in one go, no editing, so it isn't all that good lol  
> Please leave kudos and comment, it keeps me motivated <3


	8. Poll For Quality/Quantity

I'm wondering whether y'all want me to update a little less quickly but with better results/higher quality, or keep it how it is and upload every 2 days. I don't really have a preference either way, so it's up to all of you <3 Go to [this link](https://linkto.run/p/J1VHKOXJ) to vote!

Thank you!

EDIT: Um so the poll can track where you live, so you might wanna clear your cookies after voting.


	9. New Schedule

Hai everyone!  
\\(^-^)/ Krista here! <3 Thank you all for voting on my poll. I appreciate it a lot, and it seems that twice a week has won.  
My update schedule is going to be updates on Mondays and Thursdays, although I'm probably going to post one later today just to tide y'all over until Monday.  
I hope you all enjoy! ^ ^

P.S: I might not because I'm ~~lazy~~ busy


	10. Chapter 10

_ Bzz. Bzz.  _ Alexander felt his phone vibrate in his pocket for the seventh time, but ignored it. He was trying to listen to Mr. Washington’s lesson, and he was already behind since he’d transferred mid-year, so he  _ really _ didn’t need another distraction. What was Mr. Washington saying…? 

John leaned over to his seat, whispering to Alexander. This was the only class the had together; they’d compared schedules earlier. 

Alexander’s schedule read as following:

**Schedule of Alexander Hamilton** **Student ID:** 507831

 **Class/Period** **Teacher** **Time**

American Literature Washington 8:10-9:00

U.S. Government Washington 9:10-10:00

Calculus  Lowe 10:10-11:00

Japanese Shiraki 11:10-12:00

Lunch N/A 12:00-12:30

U.S. Documents Washington 12:40-1:30

Leadership 101 Covey 1:40-2:30

“Psst, Alex,” John whispered, “Do you get what Washington’s saying?”

“No, because Lafayette keeps texting me while I’m trying to listen.”

John laughed, a bit too loudly. Mr. Washington turned his attention to them and said mildly, “Mr. Laurens, do you have something you need to say?”

The freckled boy blushed. “Er, nothing, Mr. Washington.”

Mr. Washington chuckled. “Okay, John. I just want to remind you... some teachers won’t be this lenient.”

“Yes, Mr. Washington.” 

***

The next few classes went by without a hitch, and soon enough, it was lunch time. He made his way over to the lunch table where Hercules had told them to meet. Lafayette and his boyfriend were already there, chatting. When they saw Alexander approach, Lafayette motioned to the seat across from him. Alexander sat down and asked in confusion, “Where’s John?”

“He eats lunch in Mr. Song’s class sometimes, observes his turtles.”

“Sounds about right,” Alexander laughed.

“Anyway, how’s your first day going?” Hercules asked.

“Fine. Mr. Washington is cool, and Calculus is fun.”

Lafayette fake-gasped. “Calculus isn’t  _ fun _ ,  _ mon ami _ .  _ Tu es fou _ .”

“I’m insane, huh, Laf? Thanks,” Alexander said wryly. 

“What? Nobody likes Calculus… except Thomas. And Angelica. And that annoying Seabury kid.”

Hercules laughed and punched Lafayette lightly on the arm, stealing a bit of his lunch- a sad-looking mozzarella sandwich with tomatoes falling out the sides. 

“School lunches in america are  _ pathétique _ . Back in France, we have four-course lunches served at school- and the food’s actually warm, not just that microwaved shit you people serve here.”

Hercules scoffed. O”Oh, come on, Laf. It’s not  _ that  _ bad.”

“Yes it is.”

Hercules stole another bite of sandwich. “Nah, it’s just the kind of thing normal people eat, Laffy. “

“‘Normal people’?” Lafayette asked, “I’m  _ plenty _ normal.”

“You’re a fucking marquis.”

Alexander gaped. “What? A marquis?!”

“John didn’t tell you? “ Lafayette asked.

Alexander shook his head, still dumbfounded. He had been in the presence of not only the rich heir to Henry’s Pet Emporium, but a  _ Marquis _ ?! What was next? Would Hercules turn out to be the king of England?

Hercules stuck his tongue out in mock-disgust. “Rich people,” he sighed. “I guess we’ll have to stick together, huh, Alexander?” 

“Guess so,”Alexander wasn’t sure what to say. First, this guy had chastised him for being too close to his boyfriend, and now he was doing something that seemed strangely like flirting to Alexander… Weird.

Lafayette picked up on Alexander’s confusion and laughed. “Don’t pay any attention to my boyfriend,” he said. “He flirts with everyone he meets. It’s his way of saying hi.”

“Not true,” Hercules protested, “Not the girls.”

“Duh.”

Alexander found himself laughing. Again. For… what was it, the tenth time? These people really were strange.

Hercules slid over in the bench closer to Lafayette and pulled him close. He kissed him full-on on the mouth and it lasted a full ten seconds. He pulled away and said, smoothly as ever, “But you’re the only one I love.”

Lafayette (understandably) blushed. “ _ Mon amour _ , I never doubted you.”

“Good.”

_ What the hell am I supposed to do in a situation like this? _ Alexander thought. Was he supposed to leave? Pretend he wasn’t there? They were clearly having a very important and romantic conversation, and Alexander didn’t want to interrupt and destroy the few friendships he  _ did  _ have.

“Anyway,” Lafayette said, changing the subject. “I hear Thomas is coming back soon.”

“Thomas?”

“Thomas Jerfferson,” Hercules explained. “He’s in the debate club, everyone loves him, et cetera. He’s studying abroad in France right now, that asshole.”

“Hey!” Lafayette exclaimed indignantly, “Jefferson’s my friend. We met in France a few years ago.”

“He’s still an asshole.”

“...can we not talk about this?”Lafayette asked, looking genuinely hurt. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before he got up, grabbed his bag, and simply said, “I’m going to go do some… stuff.”

“...okay.”

Hercules sighed. He made eye contact with Alexander, and his eyes were filled with regret, confusion, anger, and sadness. 

“Wow, I really fucked that up, huh…?”he asked, not really looking for an answer. He put his head in his hands and massaged his temples. “Shit.”

Alexander reached out and gingerly placed his hand on the boy’s shoulders. “Hey… it’s okay.”

“It’s not, Alexander. I knew Jefferson first, but  _ damn _ , I hated him. When he went off to France, I was really happy. BUt from what I’ve heard… he met Lafayette there…” Hercules had trouble choking out the next few words, “I hear… they dated… for a bit.”

“Damn.” Hercules laughed wryly. “Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  _ Damn _ .”

They sat there in silence for a little while, before a hand clasped Alexander’s shoulder. He turned around to see John behind him, looking worried.

“Alexander!” he nearly yelled, “Is Lafayette okay? I saw him earlier, rushing into the library. He looked really upset.”

“Um… about that…”

“What did you say to him, Alexander?”

“Nothing.”

John’s attention turned to Hercules. “...was it about Thomas again?”

A piece of lint on Hercules’s sweater seemed to suddenly became extremely interesting. He picked at it, not making eye contact with John. “...no.”

John sighed as if this had already happened a thousand times, which it probably had. “Look, I know your opinions on Jefferson differ, but maybe you should  _ try  _ to just… I dunno, keep quiet about it?”

“Laf started it.”

“Look, Herc. I don’t like Jefferson any more than you do, but I manage to keep my mouth shut about him.” One look into John’s eyes told them both that they shouldn’t push it; and either way… he was right.

“...I guess I should go talk to him,” Hercules said, getting up. He dumped out his lunch tray in a nearby compost bin and walked off.

That left John and Alexander alone, John standing awkwardly while Alexander sat and picked at his sandwich. 

The silence was uncomfortable, odd. There seemed to be so many of these uncomfortable silences lately. Was this normal for friends? Alexander wasn’t sure. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure about anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew this took me a while because I'm lazy lol  
> I hope y'all enjoyed, I'm adding a new chapter on Monday, hopefully it'll be long enough.  
> Please leave kudos and comments, they keep me motivated <3


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok warning it's not that long lol because I did two chapters in the time I was supposed to do one lol   
> Also uhhhh I'm working on my Hamilton in a Nutshell video so I was distracted. Enjoy~ <3

Alexander’s phone was having a seizure in his lap, buzzing and vibrating like hell. He wasn’t supposed to answer it, though, because he was tutoring Mai at the moment. Shiori was away for a meeting with some of her friends, and had said hastily as she pulled on her boots, “Alexander, tutor Mai today, thanks, bye, and remember no texting.”

Mai looked up from her addition and subtraction problems, a little annoyed. 

“ _ Onii-chan _ , are you going to answer those?” she asked, “Are they from Lauren Johnny? I bet they are.”

Alexander sighed and looked over Mai’s shoulder at her problems. As usual, she had almost all correct answers, and had finished the 20-problem addition and subtraction problems in less than five minutes. 

He deflected the question by saying, “Nice job, Mai. Should I see if Ms. Dowling can give you harder problems?”

“Sure,” Mai said, finishing the last question and setting her pencil down with a flourish. “I wanna start the cool math that the second graders do, where you can minus multi-digit numbers. Nine minus three and stuff is  _ boring _ .”

Alexander was relieved that Mai had allowed him to deflect the question, but only for a moment, because he knew Mai didn’t drop topics she was interested in that easily.

“So, what happened with Johnny Lorenz?” she asked, reaching into Haley the Turtle’s tank and pulling her out. Haley made a rather dead inside-looking expression, like  _ What the hell is this child trying to do to me _ .... Or maybe that was just what her face normally looked like. Alexander wasn’t sure.

“...nothing happened.”

There was a momentary silence in which Mai grabbed Haley and set her down on the bed, grabbing her Hello Kitty thermos cup and taking a sip of hot chocolate. She then bounced off the bed, leaving Haley sitting on her pillow, and scampered downstairs. 

Alexander sat down on the bed and opened his phone to see that the screen read “15 new messages” blinking in red letters. He opened up his Messages app and clicked into a new group chat that had been created between himself, Hercules, and John, surveying the new texts. 

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G AN:** I need 2 apologize 2 Laf, huh?

**♡John♡:** Yes.

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G A N:** How????? 

**♡John♡:** Yknow, “I’m sorry, that was rude”?

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G A N:** But Laf started it!! 💢

**♡John♡:** Look, we know he’s an asshole, but it’s not like you can change his mind by yelling.

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G A N:** Says who??

**♡John♡:** ...literally everyone in the world except you?

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G A N:** OK, fine. I’ll text him.

**♡John♡:** NO!!

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G A N:** Why???

**♡John♡:** u need to meet him irl

**H E R C U L E S M U L L I G A N** : Can you guys meet me @ the Rabbit Rabbit Tea in 10 min for boba?

**♡John♡:** Okie

**H E R CU L E S M U L L I G A N:** Wbt Alex?

Alexander smiled. Finally, maybe they could fix all the tension and awkwardness. Without a second thought, he typed back,  _ Okay, sure.  _

It didn’t matter that he had know idea what “Rabbit Rabbit Tea” was or what this “boba” thing was like, but it didn’t matter. He had a chance to help fix the tension between his friends, and maybe even grow closer to John, so he was going to do exactly that.

And when Alexander set his mind to something, it happened.

***

Alexander walked down the frosty street for the second time that day, looking down at his phone. It had begun to snow lightly on his street, and he regretted not owning a pair of snow boots, but he was  _ pretty  _ sure he’d be fine. He’d never had his toes frozen off before…

To be fair, he’d never been in weather under seventy degrees fahrenheit before coming to New York, so he supposed saying he’d never had his toes frozen off before was a bit like saying aliens had never landed on his house.

He shot a quick text to Mr. Tachibana, Mai’s father, saying that he was going out to get boba with some friends and that he had finished Mai’s lessons, which was true. A few seconds later, Mr. Tachibana texted back, “Okay,” which was probably the most words the man had ever said to Alexander at once.

A few minutes of walking later, Alexander reached the address John had given him; 110-112 East 23rd Street. The venue in question was a cute little café with large windows displaying a yellow logo with a semi-realistic drawing of a bunny with a yellow bowtie. Hercules and Lafayette were already there, waving to Alexander from a table inside. He stepped tentatively into the café and was instantly put at ease by the friendly, playful ambiance and delicious smells. He made his way over to the table and sat down across from Lafayette.

“...so, uhhh…” Alexander’s mind was grasping desperately for a conversation topic. “Um… hi?”

“ _ Bonjour _ .”

“Yo.”

More silence.

“...er. So are you two… okay?”

“ _ Oui. _ ”

“Sure.”

The two boys sitting across from Alexander took tentative glances at each other, each sneaking peeks when they thought the other wouldn’t notice. It was like a game of sneaky, gay ping-pong; one would look away and the other would look at them, and as soon as one turned back, the other would pretend they weren’t watching.

After about five minutes of this “game”, John walked into the café, looking fashionable in his V-necked blue sweater layered over a white shirt. Alexander blushed and looked down self-consciously at his thrift-store jeans and secondhand jacket, which was several sizes too small. 

“Hey, everyone,” John smiled at them and sat down next to Alexander, his arm brushing against the shorter boy’s. Alexander found himself blushing again and tried to distract himself by taking a look at the menu. There were many options, and he wasn’t familiar with a single one of them. What was this “boba”? And why did you put it in tea? 

“Um, so… what’s ‘boba’?” Alexander asked.

John chuckled, and Alexander immediately felt embarrassed. Did he look like some sort of bumpkin? Or an idiot? 

“Oh, they’re like… tapioca pearls. You put them in your drinks, they’re tasty,” John explained.

“Oh… I see?” He didn’t.

“To put it in easier-to-understand terms, they’re little…” Hercules’s face contorted into the human equivalent of a lenny face. “Balls. They shoot up the straw from your drink into your mouth like little… snot bullets.”

Lafayette snorted. “ _ Mon amour _ . We’re about to eat here, I don’t want to be thinking about goddamn  _ snot bullets _ .”

“Sorry, Laf.”

The couple began their strange gay ping-pong game again, except this time, it only lasted a few seconds, because Lafayette tricked Hercules into looking at him and then turned around lighting fast. Hercules blushed and tried to look away, but Lafayette reached out and pressed his hand against Hercules’s cheek. For one horrible second, Alexander thought he was going to slap him, but instead, he pulled Hercules into a kiss. A very… passionate kiss.

John and Alexander both blushed and tried to look away, but the only other places for them to look were either the floor or each other.

Naturally, John chose to look at Alexander.

Alexander chose to look at the floor.

A few minutes later, Hercules and Lafayette had finally finished making out, and Alexander had finished staring at the ground. John didn’t seem bored of looking at Alexander yet, but he was able to tear his eyes away from him for long enough to ask, “What do you want to order?”

“Um, not sure, I’ve never had boba.”

“Well, I’d recommend starting with a more traditional tea, like the Jade Green or Earl Gray Milk tea. I’d start with normal boba as a topping, wait until you get used to that. It’s a bit of an acquired taste.”

Hercules wrinkled his nose. “What John means by  _ acquired taste _ is that you have to eat it literally a hundred times before you like it.”

“ _ Non, mon amour _ . It’s more like twenty, I’d say.”

“Good point,” Hercules said, standing up and motioning Lafayette to come with him. He winked and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like “give the lovers some alone time” before walking over to the order line.

“Okay, I think I’ll get the Jade Green with boba, then. Sounds good.”

“It is,” John confirmed, laughing. “The best. Well… maybe not as good as the Thai Milk Tea with boba…”

“Sounds weird.”

“You’re weird.”

Alexander stood up and bowed jokingly. “True. The  _ weirdest _ .”

“That’s what I like about you.”

Alexander blushed. Like? What kind of like? Which “like”? Like,  _ like _ -like? Or just like? What was he supposed to say in this situation? Was he supposed to say “me too”? Or would that sound like he was calling John weird? Should he say “thanks”? Or…?

He decided to go with the safest answer.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Next chapter is coming out on Thursday, sorry for the wait! I hope the next can be a bit longer.
> 
> Also I just realized that Hamilton just left Haley on the bed lmao poor abused turtle gurl


	12. Character Popularity Poll

So I promised myself that I'd make a character popularity poll once this gets to 50 kudos, and it's got 50 kudos, so... yeah. [Here's the link!](https://linkto.run/p/CVHPFD3B)

^ ^ Thank you~


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter is bad AF just saying

Alexander supposed that “okay” might not have been the right answer after all, reflecting on it during his walk home. He sipped his tea as he walked. Hmm. The tea tasted pretty normal, but the tapioca pearls…  _ boba _ , John had called them, felt odd. They added a nice bit of texture to the drink, and they tasted good, but he’d never had tea that was quite so… chewy. Another mini-phone seizure, a text from John. It read  _ Sorry, forgot to ask. Want to go get Froyo after school tomorrow? Just the two of us?  _ Alexander blushed. Was this a date? What was he supposed to say? Should he play it cool, or be honest and act excited? He supposed that the “playing it cool” hadn’t worked all that well earlier, as John had seemed a bit quieter for the rest of their hangout. He decided to try a middle-of-the-road answer, typing back  _ Okay, sounds fun!  _ Before pocketing his phone once again.

Suddenly, his phone began to have another seizure, and this time, it was a call from Mai. Alexander fumbled with his drink and managed to bump the “answer” button, and Mai’s high-pitched voice, distorted by the phone, came through into Alexander’s ear.

“ _ Onii-chan _ !” the girl said in between what sounded like sobs. “ _ Onii-chan _ ! Help!”

“What’s going on, Mai?” Alexander had never heard her cry before, and the sound was strange. Mai wasn’t the type to cry over nothing, or even over what would probably make the average six-year-old cry. This was serious.

“H-haley-” Mai stammered, “Sh-she’s… she’s-”

Terror flooded through Alexander’s veins, filling up and up and up until he had more of it than he had blood. He knew that if Haley was hurt, or worse, dead, Mai wouldn’t be the one taking the blame… it would be him.

“What happened?” Alexander asked.

“H-haley’s… g-gone!” Mai sobbed.

_ Shit _ . Alexander remembered, at that time, that he’d left Haley on Mai’s bed… he’d asked Mai if it was okay if he went to get boba, but he’d forgotten to put Haley away. It really  _ was  _ his fault.

“Did you check your whole bed?”

“Y-yeah!”

“Under your bed?”

A pause. Then Alexander heard a shuffling noise and then a thump, before Mai grabbed the phone again, hyperventilating. “N-no, she’s not! She’s… gone!”

“Okay,” Alexander took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Well… did you check all of your room?”

“Yeah!”

“Your bathroom?”

“Yes!”

“Huh… okay.”

Mai was starting to sound more hysterical by the minute. “H-haley…” she cried. “I want Haley back!”

“Okay, I’m coming over.” Alexander hung up the phone and sped up his pace to a light jog. He made it over to his foster family’s house soon enough, unlocking the door with the set of keys given to him by Mr. Tachibana. Entering the house, he immediately heard Mai’s sobs resonating through the building. Alexander tiptoed up to Mai’s room, not wanting to make noise in case that was what was scaring Haley. 

He opened the door to her room. The once tidy pink and baby blue room looked like a tornado had hit it, chairs upturned, pillows thrown into the corners. The fluffy white blanket from her bed lay crumpled on the floor, and stuffed animals lay in fluffy pink heaps on her bean bag chair. In the eye of this hurricane of destruction and hurt, Mai sat cross-legged on her bed, sobbing into her hands. When she realized that Alexander was there, she quickly wiped away her tears and forced her face into a more neutral expression, looking up at him. Looking into her eyes, Alexander saw the pain-- Haley had, strangely enough, been one of her only friends. People at school didn’t like Mai; even at Miranda High she was known by the seniors as “that loud first grader who thinks she’s smarter than us.” As Charles Lee was the main proponent of this moniker, Alexander found it likely that he wasn’t entirely incorrect; but, as John had joked, Mai probably  _ was  _ smarter than him.

“...hey,  _ onii-chan _ .”

“Hey, Mai,” Alexander walked up to Mai and sat down next to her, bringing his legs up and hugging his knees. He saw her hollow expression and tried to force a smile onto his face. It turned out as more of a grimace, he suspected. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find Haley.”

“B-but… I looked everywhere…”

Alexander got up off the bed, pulling Mai up with him. “Come on. Let’s keep looking.”

The two spent the rest of the afternoon searching, and afternoon faded into late afternoon, and finally, evening. By then, they’d been looking for hours, and eventually, Mai plopped down onto the couch and started fiddling with her necklace, a heart-shaped locket with silver accents. Alexander sat down beside her, sighing. He pulled his socks off and chucked them in the general direction of the laundry hampers. They missed by a few feet, and Alexander sighed again and sat back down. 

“She’ll turn up eventually,” Alexander said after a few minutes of silence, although it sounded like he was more trying to convince himself than Mai. 

“I hope so.” Mai pulled her socks off of her own tiny feet and threw them towards the hamper, barely looking in the direction. They both landed right in the middle of the hamper, but neither her nor Alexander noticed. Mai was looking at her locket again, and Alexander was checking his phone. M

“You’re Mikasa in this scenario,” Mai said suddenly, bouncing in her seat a bit.

“Mikasa? Huh?”

Mai motioned to the scarf he was wearing, the one given to him by John. “My friend Sarah says her older sister watches this show called  _ Attack On Titan _ . The main girl, Mikasa, gets a scarf from the main character, Eren. She takes it as this major sign that they’re meant to be or something.” Mai stuck her feet out and wiggled her toes. “Lemme guess, you got that from John?”

Alexander noticed that this was the first time Mai said his name correctly, but he didn’t comment for fear of her reverting to calling him “Lorenz Johnny”. 

“Yeah, I did.”

“Of course you did.”

The two sort-of-siblings continued sitting in silence for a few minutes before Alexander stood up, determined to break all of these awkward silences that seemed so common lately. 

“I’ll go make dinner,” he said.

Mai perked up, sitting up a little straighter. “Can it be ramen?” she asked hopefully. 

Alexander figured she’d been through enough already, so he decided to humor her. “Sure,” he told her, “But just the instant kind. I can’t make the soup base from scratch like your mom.”

“Sadly.”

Alexander ignored this and went into the kitchen, getting out a packet of family-serving instant ramen and a pot. He filled the pot with water and set it down, lidded, on the burner, before turning it on. Soon enough, the water was boiled, the ramen was cooked, and the soup base was added. He had just finished serving it out into bowls when he heard the front door open and saw Mai’s parents enter the house. 

_ Shit _ .

Alexander knew who would be blamed for losing Haley… and it wouldn’t be Mai.

The entire dinner was filled with tension, nobody saying much of anything. Mai’s mother attempted to break the silence occasionally, asking Mai how her day was, but the conversation never lasted more than a few seconds. Alexander was grateful for the lack of conversation for once in his life. It meant he didn’t have to explain himself to the Tachibanas.

Eventually, Mr. Tachibana finished his bowl and stood up, grabbing his briefcase. “I’ve got to go back into work, Mai-chan,” he told Mai. “Don’t forget to feed Haley tonight.”

Alexander’s blood ran cold, and Mai began fidgeting and playing with her chopsticks. “About that…”

“What is it, Mai-chan?” Shiori asked, a concerned look on her face. 

“Yeah… so… Haley’s kind of… lost…?” Mai stammered, trailing off after the ‘lost’. She grabbed her chopsticks and started drumming them on the side of her bowl, which earned a disapproving scowl from her father.

“What do you mean by ‘lost’?” her mother asked.

“W-well… I got her out earlier, and like I forgot to put her away and I went down to get hot chocolate and left her and--”

Alexander cut her off. “It’s not Mai’s fault,” he told them, surprised by himself. A few weeks earlier, he wouldn’t have even considered getting himself in trouble for a foster sibling. “I… I left, to go hang out with some friends, like I told you. I forgot to put Haley back.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana’s focus changed to Alexander, their eyes penetrating his skull. Mr. Tachibana’s cold gaze conveyed a nonverbal message:  _ I knew fostering you would be more trouble than it’s worth _ .

But he said nothing of the sort to Alexander. He just said something much shorter, but much more painful.

“You’re grounded.”

“But I have to meet a friend tomorrow-!”

“Too bad. I’m taking away your phone as well, as it seems that was what caused you to forget about Haley.”

“But-!”

“Figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment if you liked it or leave kudos. The comments keep me motivated :)  
> I'm sorry it's low quality and short, I wasn't sure where I was going. I'm still not sure where I'm going, honestly. Ideas and constructive criticism are appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

Alexander was in a dismal mood for the rest of the night. He lay on his twin bed, staring at the pale yellow ceiling, a YouTube video he’d abandoned watching playing cheerful, bouncy music as a perky Asian woman taught him how to “Take Beautiful and Comprehensive Notes for School”. Alexander snorted in wry amusement. It had probably been years since she’d even  _ been  _ to school.

The video ended with some pop song the woman had somehow used and got out of copyright, and the woman squeaked “Byeee, fam!” as if she actually cared about the millions watching her videos. Alexander didn’t move, couldn’t even summon up the strength to turn off autoplay. 

Just a few moments ago, Alexander had forced himself to tell John he couldn’t make it to get froyo. It had gone down something like this:

**Alexander:** Sorry, can’t make it to froyo.

**♡John♡:** ...why not?

Alexander had hesitated, torn. He wasn’t sure if he should tell the truth, that he’d lost John’s favorite turtle, or tell him a little white lie-- that he felt sick, or something.

He went with the little white lie.

**Alexander:** I feel sick…

A floating ellipses had appeared under John’s name, indicating that he was typing, but it disappeared. It re-appeared again after a few seconds, and then a new text pinged into Alexander’s phone.

**♡John♡** : OK.

Alexander didn’t have to be a mind-reader to know that John hadn’t believed him.

Alexander turned over in his bed, his eyes falling on his phone. YouTube was now playing some weird vine compilation- the clean kind. Boring. 

He let it keep playing and turned over onto his stomach, squashing his head in between two pillows, trying to block out the sound of terrible, unfunny clips that had the audacity to call themselves “vines”.

He just laid there, letting the videos play, until night turned into midnight, midnight into early morning, a time at which he was dimly aware of Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana leaving the house for an early meeting, and finally, at six am, Alexander heard the telltale sounds of Mai getting up; the flushing of the toilet, the running of the sink, and finally, banging on his door.

After the fourth knock, Mai seemed to get bored of knocking and burst in. 

“Whoa,  _ onii-chan _ , you’re still in bed?! You’re usually...”

Mai trailed off after taking one look at Alexander’s face. His eyes were more bag than eye, and his blank stare told Mai that he’d been up all night, just as the redness told her he’d been crying.

“Hey, cheer up!” she made her way across the room and flicked him on the forehead. He flinched and looked into her eyes, not even having to speak to tell Mai all that he was feeling. Mai’s expression softened.

“...hey, look on the bright side. Mama and Papa aren’t here,” she told him. 

“...I’m still grounded.”

“So? At least you can stay home,” Mai said. She glanced at the bags under Alexander’s eyes and added, “Maybe take a nap or something. You look like hell.”

“Hey, where are you learning that language, Mai?!” Alexander bolted upright, only to flop back down a second later. He knew what she would say, and sure enough she said it.

“I learned it from you.”

“Well, forget it. I don’t need to be grounded again.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Mai spun around and skipped out of the room. After a few seconds, her head popped back in just long enough for her to say, “By the way, I told Sarah you were sick, so her sister is going to walk us to school.”

“‘Kay,” Alexander turned over again, tangling his left leg up in a sheet. His phone was still on autoplay, now playing some music video where a botox-filled Kardashian type danced and shook her butt at the camera. Alexander was barely able to summon the energy to skip the abomination. 

He stared despondently at the mirror in the corner of his room, red-rimmed, black-bagged eyes staring back at him. By the casual observer, he could be mistaken for a corpse. He heard Mai shout, “‘Bye,  _ onii-chan _ !” before flinging the door closed behind her. He heard garage doors open, cars pull out of driveways, and kids yell goodbye to their parents. Through all of it, he lay there, one leg still tangled in a sheet, until around 2:30, when his stomach’s growling had become too loud and frequent to ignore. Alexander mustered all of the energy in his body and sat up in his bed, turning off his phone and swinging his legs around, climbing unsteadily out of the bed. He staggered into the bathroom, not bothering to change out of his rumpled jeans and T-shirt from the day before. After splashing a bit of water on his face and brushing his teeth, he staggered down the stairs, almost tripping every two steps. 

He made his way into the kitchen, the afternoon light shining through the windows. Alexander couldn’t remember the last time he’d missed school voluntarily, let alone stay in bed until past noon. Probably because it had never happened before. 

Pushing the refrigerator door open, Alexander sighed. He’d ruined his relationship was John Laurens, one of his only friends, and Alexander had a sneaking suspicion that, since John didn’t know the full story, Lafayette and Hercules would side with John as well.

Suddenly, Alexander heard the sound of Mai swinging the door open, and soon enough, she bounced into the kitchen, carrying a bag of what seemed to be candy.

“Hey,  _ onii-chan _ ,” she said, sitting down at her place at the kitchen table. She opened the bag of candy and pulled out a lemon-lime dum dum.

“Want it?” 

“Sure,” Alexander said, sighing. He took the lollipop and stuck it in his mouth. He looked over at Mai. “Where’d you get that?”

“Sarah gave ‘em to me,” Mai said simply, carefully scrutinizing the contents of the bag before pulling out a Ghirardelli Caramel Chocolate Square and popping it into her mouth. She gagged and spit it out. 

“What’s wrong?”

Mai giggled and scratched her head. “I forgot I don’t like caramel.”

Alexander would’ve facepalmed if he had enough energy to do so. 

The two sat in relative silence for a few moments until Mai finished a final Ghirardelli (Not Caramel) Chocolate Square and sprung to her feet.

“I’m not a snitch,” she said simply before skipping out of the room, whistling.

Alexander immediately understood. Mai, despite her shortcomings, could really be a great kid.

***

About ten minutes later, Alexander heard a knock at the door. He ran over and put his face to the door, checking who it was. He saw John’s freckled face smiling at him, and immediately felt self-conscious as soon as he opened the door. John had clearly dressed up for him, wearing a burgundy turtleneck sweater and white wool leggings. He’d let his shoulder-length hair down, and it fell in brown waves down his neck and shoulders, while Alexander’s own hair was tangled, with a long strand of it sticking out on the side of his head. 

“Uh… hey, Alex,” John said. He looked a bit uncomfortable, and with good reason, Alexander thought. He opened the door farther and stood to the side, allowing John to come in. He pulled off his shoes and left them near the shoe rack by the door, following Alexander into the den. Alexander plopped himself down onto the low, leather couch immediately, John looking around the room tentatively before sitting down beside him.  
“So, uhh, what’s going on?”

Alexander gulped. He knew he’d have to admit it to John eventually, but he’d hoped he could evade it for a bit longer. 

“Well, basically…” Alexander stared down at his jeans and picked at a bit of lint that had gotten stuck on them, no doubt from having his legs tangled up in bedsheets. “Um… I kind of… lost Haley…”

John’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I lost her. I… left her on Mai’s bed… and then I forgot to put her away…”

“Oh… well…” John seemed to be at a loss for words. He scratched his head. “Do you want me to help look for her?”

_ Huh,  _ Alexander thought. Why hadn’t he thought of that?  _ Of course  _ he’d know how to find lost turtles.

“Sure, good idea,” Alexander replied, leading John up to Mai’s room. He knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Mai was in front of the two boys, a book in one hand and a lollipop in the other. 

“Ooh, look, it’s Lorenz Johnny,” Mai said, popping her lollipop into her mouth. She sucked on it for a few seconds, the teenage boys standing awkwardly, before taking it out and staring up at John. “What, do you want one?”

“Er, no thanks.”

Mai popped the lollipop back into her mouth and said, “So, whatcha need?” although the words came out somewhat unclear.

“I’m going to help you find Haley,” John told her. 

“Oooh, yay!” Mai cheered, jumping up and down. She ran up to Alexander and got onto her tiptoes, whispering to him, “Wow, your boyfriend is nice!” before skipping over to her bed and plopping down onto it.

“So first, what you want to do is check all of the small side rooms and closets here,” John explained as he went into Mai’s closet. He rummaged around in it, picking up fallen dresses and hanging them back up. He emerged a few minutes later empty-handed but with a smile on his face.

“Okay, she’s not in there,” he told them. “That’s a good sign, she’s probably in this room. Alexander, did you close the door behind you yesterday?”  
“Yeah.”

“Great. Turtles don’t have very good hearing, so calling out probably won’t do much, but Haley’s pretty docile. A worker left her out of the tank once; she stayed in the same aisle and just waited for us to find her.”

“So I’m going to close all the doors in here,” John continued, “And then I’ll search under your bed, ‘cause turtles like the dark.”

John began rummaging under Mai’s bed, his upper body fully under. His legs poked out from the side in almost a comical way, his jeans picking up bits of carpet lint from the floor. He emerged just a few moments later holding a confused-looking Haley the Turtle.

Haley blinked slowly, her head moving until she was looking up at John, as if to say “I know you. You’re the guy who sold me to these weird people.”

Mai ran up to John and grabbed Haley, hugging her close. Haley squirmed a bit and retracted into her shell. 

“Eeeee, thank you so much, John!” she squealed, putting Haley back into her tank. “I promise to be more careful from now on.”

“Okay, thanks, Mai,” John chuckled, his eyes scrunching up in happiness. He turned to Alexander and gave him a thousand-watt-bright smile.

“I’m glad we found her,” he said. “I would’ve hated for her to be lost forever.”

“Yeah… what now? Wanna hang out for a bit longer?” Alexander asked, twirling a strand of his messy hair near his face. He immediately scolded himself for letting himself do that.  _ I probably look like a lovestruck schoolgirl _ , he thought angrily. 

John glanced down at his watch. “Um, I’m sorry…” he said. “Father told me to be home by four.”

Alexander tried not to let his disappointment show. “Oh, okay, that’s fine,” he said quickly.

“Sorry,” John said again, making his way down the stairs and putting his shoes on. He blushed a bit, his freckles highlighted by a pinkish glow. He bid goodbye to Alexander, and soon Alexander heard his car revving up and taking off, leaving Alexander alone with his thoughts.

Most of said thoughts were about none other than John Laurens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment, they help me stay motivated. If you've noticed, my updates have been a little less regular (I said on Mondays and Thursdays but it's a late Monday). It's because of personal stuff and lack of motivation to keep writing; I feel like nobody really enjoyed the latest chapters.  
> The next chapter will be full of Lams, don't worry, and the next even more Lams-y.
> 
> You're still here? Wow. Thanks.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa finally.   
> I know it's a bit early but I wrote it and couldn't wait to post it lol

That weekend, it was John’s turn to stay home sick. Alexander had been working on his English homework when his phone had pinged. He’d picked it up, muttering that Lafayette needed to stop spamming him, clicking into the messages app. He was surprised to see that it was  _ not  _ from Lafayette. It was from John.

The text was short, ridden with typos. It read: i got teh flu sorry alex.

John always used correct grammar and punctuation in his texts, so Alexander immediately knew something was seriously wrong. He texted back, “Are you okay?” with a worried-looking emoji, but no answer came. Alexander got even more worried, feeling a pit of dread form in his stomach. It sucked all of his intestines into it, like a black hole, until all that was left was dread.

He clicked into the group chat and typed in a quick message before heading downstairs. Mr. Tachibana was lounging on the couch, reading a book.

“Oh, Alexander,” he said, glancing up from the book. “Do you need something?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if I could go visit my friend? I’ll be back before dinner.”

At that moment, Mai looked up from her homework to giggle and cut in, “Did you put Haley away?”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “Mai, I didn’t even take Haley out…”

Mr. Tachibana smiled. “Well then, feel free to go, Alexander. Just be back by seven.”

“Yes, Mr. Tachibana.” Alexander turned and headed out to the front hall, checking his phone. Lafayette had texted John’s address in the group chat, as requested. Along with a lenny face, for some strange reason. What did he think they were going to do there?!

***

Alexander parked his car at the side of John’s large driveway, looking up at the house in astonishment. The place was  _ huge _ , three times the size of the well-off Tachibanas’ mansion. He walked up a flight of stairs leading up to an elevated porch and doorstep. He reached out and rang the doorbell, which made a loud ding-donging noise, resonating through the three-story house.

Almost two minutes later, a boy answered the door. The boy had disheveled brown hair lying in tangled waves on his shoulders and was paler than an albino ghost. Alexander did a double take-- that wasn’t just any boy, it was John!

“Alexander…?” John would have sounded surprised if his voice wasn’t so weak. He staggered forward, no doubt to let Alexander in, but stumbled and had to grab the side of the door to support himself. He gave Alexander a weak smile and tried to stand up a little straighter, only succeeding in falling over a little farther.

“...s-sorry… I think I must’ve caught something…”

_ Shit,  _ Alexander thought. John looked  _ bad _ . When he’d heard John had the flu, he hadn’t thought it would be  _ that  _ bad. He started to turn around, planning to leave and let John recover.

“Nope, I’ll leave. Go back to bed,” he said, closing the door behind him, John stuck his foot out and blocked the door, almost falling over in the process. He made eye contact with Alexander and looked at him imploringly through watery, red-rimmed, heavily bagged eyes. 

“Please… Alexander…” John staggered forward, grabbing his sleeve. Alexander was too heartbroken by this sight to even get nervous about transmission of flu germs. Hearing John’s pleas, his heart broke even further.

“Okay, I guess I’ll be staying then,” he relented. He grabbed John’s arm, trying to support him, and was surprised by how hot he felt-- he was burning up. John weakly gave Alexander directions to his room through the large maze of hallways and rooms, and after what seemed like hours they arrived at a large bedroom. 

The bedroom in question was huge; about four times the size of Alexander’s. There were multiple turtle tanks lining one wall, the other wall taken up by a large bookshelf filled with books, most of which relating to turtles. In the middle of the room stood a large king-sized bed, majestic in size and carving. As Alexander lowered John into it, he noticed that despite the impressively done turtle carvings on the bed frame, the sheets themselves were quite modest-- simple white sheets with cute little turtle prints. 

Alexander tried to make small talk as he got John a glass of water and some cough medication. 

“So… uhhh… how’d you get the flu? Aren’t you vaccinated?” he asked, genuinely curious.

John looked at him forlornly, a regretful expression on his face. “My dad’s anti-vaxx. He wouldn’t let me get a shot.”

Alexander let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up…” he let out a weak laugh that turned into a fit of coughing. 

“Whoa… um, I guess it might be better for you to just rest. I’ll shut up.”

“But… I like talking to you…”

“Fine, I’ll talk. But you have to save your strength.”

John looked like he was about to argue, but another fit of coughs overtook him.

For the rest of the day, John seemed to drift in and out of an uneasy sleep, waking up every few minutes, looking embarrassed. At one point, John’s eyes opened for a few seconds, and they were focused straight on Alexander.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Alexander looked up from one of John’s books, a particularly interesting one on different types of turtles.

“…will you date me?”

Alexander set down the book and felt John’s forehead. Still burning up. 

“You’re delirious.”

John grabbed Alexander’s hand with surprising strength for a sick person. 

“No, I’m not,” he said earnestly, “I’m in love.”

After this, the freckled boy’s grip loosened and his eyes closed, and he didn’t wake for another hour.

***

Alexander continued to visit John daily for the next three days, even faking sick to miss school that Monday--a rarity for the normal Alexander, and yet the second time he’d voluntarily missed school for a John-related incident. The taller boy had looked like he was about to protest when Alexander came on Monday, but he had a long coughing fit, enough time for Alexander to pretty much drag him back into bed.

Incidents like the declaration of love on Saturday continued, although they showed no sign of stopping despite John’s rapid recovery. By Tuesday, he seemed pretty much like the John who Alexander knew.

On Wednesday, Alexander called in sick to school again and knocked on John’s door and was surprised to see John up and about-- Alexander entered with the keys he’d been given after five minutes of waiting after ringing the doorbell, fearing for the worst-- but his fears were proven to be in vain, as the only thing different about the house was the smell of pancakes lingering in the air.

Alexander followed the smell into the kitchen to see John up and about, standing at the burner of a high-tech kitchen. He flipped a pancake and turned to his guest, smiling.

“Look, I’m better!” John exclaimed. He didn’t need to tell Alexander that; it was pretty obvious. His skin glowed healthily, his eyes bright and focused, and he  _ was  _ feeling good enough to cook pancakes, so Alexander took that as a good sign.

The shorter boy chuckled and made his way over to John. He’d practiced this line in the mirror so many times before, it  _ had  _ to work now. He took a deep breath.

“Does this mean you’re going to stop with the declarations of love?” he attempted a wink, but it turned out just looking like his right eyelid was having a seizure. 

John winked back, except this one actually looked like a normal wink. He grabbed Alexander and pulled him in close, his lips parting. This was the time. It was the moment. Alexander’s lips parted as well, and the two of them closed the distance between each other, until they made contact. Alexander wasn’t exactly an expert on the subject of kissing, and neither, it seemed, was John, but nevertheless, it was the best ten seconds of Alexander’s life.

“So, err…” John pulled away, blushing profusely. “Let’s try the whole declaration of love thing again… will you go out with me?”

This was the moment. The boy Alexander had liked for weeks had asked him out. And he wasn’t just going to throw away his hot.

Alexander pulled Laurens in for another kiss, this one longer than before. When they finally parted, Alexander smiled at him, for the first time in his life, overjoyed. Nothing could ruin his day now.

“Yes, John. I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and comments, they keep me motivated. <3
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? Please let me know! Constructive criticism is appreciated :)


	16. Chapter 16

Winter break had finally begun. Snowflakes flitted towards the ground, spinning and dancing through the air like icy ballerinas. Christmas lights twinkled, and if Alexander were to go on a walk, he would hear the yelps and squeals of families putting up their Christmas trees. The fireplace in the Tachibana household burned warm and bright, its light and heat flooding the living room. Mai lay on her back next to the fireplace, smiling as she soaked up the warmth, watching her father put a final ornament on the tree.

Alexander stretched out his arm to make it as long as possible, his sweaty hand grasping a glittering christmas star ornament. He stood on his tiptoes in a very precarious position; on top of a four-foot ladder, stretching to reach the top of the tree. Mai giggled, making it apparent that she enjoyed watching him struggle. 

“Short,” Mai teased, sitting up. “Isn’t that Lorenz Johnny guy like 5’11”?”

“...yeah…”

The girl smiled mischievously. “And aren’t you like, what, 5’7”?”

“...where are you going with this?”

Mai stood up, pulling herself to her own full height, about 3’5”. “You’re a  _ shortie _ .”

“Am not!” Alexander exclaimed indignantly, jumping up a little bit. His foot caught in the bar in front of the ladder, and his sock got caught on a loose hook from one of the ornaments on the tree, sending him tumbling down. Fortunately, the floor was carpet, so Alexander’s head didn’t break, but the Christmas star had no such luck. It flew from his hand out of the living room and onto the floor of the adjacent kitchen, landed, and promptly shattered into a thousand pieces. 

Mr. Tachibana glanced down from his own ladder and sighed. “Alexander, what’s gotten into you?” he asked, looking concerned.

Alexander blushed. Recently, whenever anyone mentioned John, Alexander would blush, stumble, and mess something up. 

This hadn’t gone unnoticed by Mai, it seemed. 

“Oooh,  _ Onii-chan _ !” Mai sped out of the room and returned, panting, a few seconds later with a dustpan. After catching her breath, she started sweeping up the shards of broken glass while continuing. “Why do you get so… flustered… when you talk about Lorenz Johnny?”

Alexander blushed and scratched his head. “Er, no reason…”

Mai ceased sweeping for a second, just long enough to stare up at Alexander, meeting his eyes in a disturbingly intense way for a six year old. 

“Did something happen between you and John Laurens?”

Alexander gulped. No use trying to hide it now. When Mai called John by his actual name, she was serious.

“Well… we may or may not be dating now.”

Mai whistled, and even Mr. Tachibana turned away from the Christmas tree for a second. 

“Welp… that was  _ not  _ what I was expecting to hear.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?! You thought I’d get rejected?!”

Mai giggled and her eyes traveled back to the broken glass. She resumed sweeping before softly muttering, “Well, he  _ is  _ way out of your league.”

Alexander pretended not to hear.

Mr. Tachibana finished decorating the Christmas tree and sat down on the couch. He and Mai exchanged glances.

“Hey, Alexander,” he said, motioning for him to sit down. “We need to tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“Well… Shiori, Mai, and I are going to Tokyo for the winter break. We’re leaving at five tomorrow.”

Alexander gaped. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“You were too busy staring at pictures of John.”

“Was not!” Alexander protested, grabbing the locket John had given him protectively. He didn’t stare at the picture  _ all  _ the time- he preferred the real life version.

“Well, anyway,” Mr. Tachibana stood up and grabbed his teacup off the side table, taking a sip. “The house is yours. Invite anyone you want over. Do whatever you want, just don’t break anything.”

“Don’t lose Haley, either!” Mai cut in. The Haley taunts had been non-stop since John had found her.

“Okay, okay,” John said, sighing. He wasn’t too excited about being alone in the Tachibana house for two weeks… but at least he had John.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik it's short and kind of bad, I was procrastinating (a lot) and have some personal stuff going on as well. I hope you can forgive me.


	17. I'm sorry...

So I know that I was supposed to post a chapter yesterday, but I got the flu and I feel dizzy looking at the computer screen, so ummm yeah... I feel weird just writing this so I'm sorry... on the bright side, I _should_ be better by Monday-ish, so if I push myself enough I won't have to miss another post day.

Sorry again...


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it's short, I've been sick so I was trying to take it easier ig? I hope it's decent, more interesting stuff should happen soon.

It was 5:00 pm, precisely twelve hours after the Tachibana family had departed, and Alexander had already managed to break their only rule: “Don’t break anything.”

He hadn’t intended to break Mai’s rice bowl, same as he hadn’t intended for the whole school to show up at his doorstep. All he’d done was text the group chat that he was having a  _ small  _ get-together at his house. Somehow, the message had been passed on to the whole grade, all the seniors and then some.

He blamed Lafayette.

***

_ Ding-dong _ . 

Alexander glanced up from his book and looked through the window by the door, expecting to see his group finally there. He did see his group there… and then some. 

Hercules had brought extra people with him; three girls. The first girl was the tallest, with dark skin and long curly hair. She wore a red crop top, with laces running down the side of it, and some slightly ripped skinny jeans, her shoes lace-up red converse, matching her shirt. 

The second girl looked vaguely familiar to Alexander, with long, straight hair and beautiful, dark eyes. She wore an outfit similar to her older sister’s, although it was blue instead of red and showed a bit less skin. She looked up and tentatively met Alexander’s eyes, blushing a bit. Realizing this, she quickly dropped her gaze to her feet.

“S-sorry, Alexander…” the girl stuttered timidly. “Er, sorry to barge in like this, I mean… er…”

The first girl laughed, a sort of clipped, witty giggle, and flung her arm around the straight-haired girl. 

“Eliza, you’re being awfully timid today. I wonder which of them is the reason…?” she smirked, surveying the crowd of teens. 

The girl, it seemed her name was Eliza, flicked her sister on the arm and sighed. “Angelica, you’re being ridiculous. I just feel bad for barging into Alexander’s house when he doesn’t even know who we are.”

“Well, we can fix that!” The youngest girl finally spoke up, flinging her arms around both girls from behind. She had tanned skin and curly brown hair done up into puffy little ponytails, which she somehow managed to make look cute and not kindergarten-ish. She wore an outfit similar to her sisters’, although less flashy, with a dandelion-yellow scarf knotted over a short-sleeved pastel yellow T-shirt.

“I’m Peggy Schuyler,” the youngest girl said, bouncing up and down. She pointed to the girl in the red shirt and said, “And  _ this _ is Angelica. I’m a junior at Miranda High. Eliza’s a senior, so she’s your age. Angelica’s studying at Columbia.”

“Wow.”

“I know, right?” Eliza cut in, her voice filled with admiration. “Pretty much  _ everything  _ about Angelica is  _ wow _ !”

“Hey, move it. You’re blocking the door.”

This new voice belonged to a dark-haired boy wearing a blue hoodie and a pair of black leggings. He wore an ugly scowl on his face, like everything was a waste of his time. 

The corner of John’s mouth twitched downwards in annoyance. “Oh, shut up, Lee,” he said, glaring at the boy. “Nobody invited you.”

“Nobody invited the shitler sisters either.”

Peggy’s hands balled into a fist, and Angelica had a murderous look in her eyes, but Eliza lightly brushed each sister on the shoulder and in turn, they ignored him. 

Angelica sighed and strode off towards the living room, her sisters closely following. Alexander heard her mutter something along the lines of “we don’t have time for Lee.”

Alexander felt his face grow hot with anger. Who was this shithead? Why was he being such a dick?

“Well, considering this is  _ my  _ party,” Alexander said, trying to keep his voice calm, “I say that the Schuyler sisters are welcome… and you’re not.”

The dark-haired boy smirked, condescension seeping into his face. “Oh, new boy,” he let out a low laugh, “Don’t you know the rules of parties? If you invite four people, the whole school is invited.”

It was only then that Alexander noticed Lee hadn’t been alone. Behind him stood a red-haired boy, his arms crossed smugly. A few other people had arrived at the door as well, a curly-haired, full-lipped girl in a rather revealing red crop top and a shifty-looking boy in an ugly-looking hat who seemed to be the girl’s boyfriend.

“Lee, just let us in to the damn party,” the ugly one said, gripping his girlfriend’s arm with so much force she flinched. Nobody noticed the venemont glare he gave her after this, and the muttering of a threat. 

Lafayette laughed nervously. “ _ Oui, oui _ . We should just go inside and start the party,  _ non _ ? I brought beer!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lee attackz

Lafayette was the first casualty of the party.

Within fifteen minutes, the party was in full swing, everyone loud, excited, and rather drunk. 

With a cry of, “Let’s partyyyy!”, Lafayette had filled up a mug with beer, chugged it, and promptly fell over.

“What’d they put in this shit?” Lafayette asked, his accent more pronounced and his words slurred. “‘Dis is strong!”

Hercules took an experimental swig, his cheeks flushing from the drink. “It’s not all that,” he said trying to sound nonchalant, although Alexander noticed him visibly sway. 

“You guys are so lame,” Alexander laughed, sitting back on the sofa. He picked up his book and began to read.

“Oh ‘eah?” Lafayette asked, getting shakily to his feet. “‘Y don’ you try some?”

“Sure,” Alexander said, secretly nervous. He hadn’t had alcohol before, his previous families being unable to afford it. He took a swig, gagging at the taste. It was weird- slightly warm, likely from the car ride, and really strong. Alexander felt his cheeks redden.

“It’s not that bad,” Alexander said, attempting to slap Lafayette on the back but missing. His hands swayed and moved shakily, slapping the couch instead. Why weren’t his body parts moving correctly?

John burst out laughing, the only one who hadn’t had a drink yet. He grabbed Alexander by the arm, slapping him lightly. “Have you even  _ had  _ alcohol before?” he asked.

“Of course I have!”

“Mhm, sure. Okay.” John grabbed a can and downed it in one gulp, smacking his lips. “Mm, that was good,” he commented, reaching for another can.

Angelica looked over from the couch nearby, holding up what appeared to be a monopoly card. “Boys, stop drinking yourselves into a stupor and come play with us.”

“Yeah!” Peggy added, motioning them over. “Come on! There’s more to life than beer!”

Hercules looked up from his third can. “Is there?” he asked, causing everyone, drunk or not, to break into peals of laughter.

“Well, yeah,” John said reasonably. He grabbed Alexander’s arm and pulled him in for a kiss. “There’s beer, turtles, and Alexander.”

Peggy raised an eyebrow. “In order of importance?”

Lafayette slapped John’s arm, rolling off the couch and hitting his head. When he recovered, he yelled, “Ew, no PDA,” before passing out. Hercules hid his face in his hands, laughing.

“He knows he can’t take more than two cans, yet he tries for three every time,” Hercules commented, grabbing Lafayette’s arm and dragging him up to the sofa. “Well, anyway, if John and Alex get to do PDA, I can, too.” He pulled the intoxicated Lafayette into a kiss.

“You people are so weird,” said a familiar voice. Charles Lee was back, holding his own can of beer. He ran his hands through his hair in what was probably supposed to be an “cool” way. “What is this, a faggot party?”

The bald boy from earlier grabbed Charles’s arm, trying to hold him back. “Charles…” he warned.

“Oh, leave me alone, Aaron. Look at these fags, being disgusting all over this place.”

John’s face was red. “You didn’t-” he started, cracking his knuckles. “You. Fucking. Didn’t.”

Alexander would later look back and regret not holding John back, but at that time, Alexander wasn’t thinking clearly. Blood rushed to his head, turning him redder than a bloody tomato, and his hands balled up into fists. “Lee…” he started, taking a step closer to the boy. “You better take that back.  _ Now _ .”

Charles smiled cockily, cracking his knuckles. “Hy should I?” he taunted, breaking free from the bald boy- Aaron--’s grasp. “You fags are as spineless as they come, anyway.”

Hercules chuckled. “Says you,” he remarked, breaking into peals of laughter. He (albeit shakily) stood up, balling his fists up. “You’re the spineless one here.”

The three boys converged on Lee, fists ready. John threw the first punch. Alexander threw the last.

About twelve hours later, at six a.m., when the sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains in the distance, Lafayette woke to see Lee collapsed on the ground with several pictures drawn on his face. Alexander and John were in the kitchen, making crepes together, and Hercules was scrolling through an online fashion magazine. Lafayette bolted upright.

“Er…” he started, looking around. “What’d I miss?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, yeah, sorry it wasn't very good, I'm still not exactly at 100% yet. I'm getting a bit better, and the comments from all of you really help motivate me. Thank you for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so it's depressingly short and I have no excuse except for that I'm procrastinating. I'm really, really sorry, I would've just skipped today and posted a nice long one on Thursday, but since this one is a Valentines Day special I didn't wanna wait. It's low-quality and short because I pumped it out in like 10 minutes, I'm having trouble getting re-obsessed with the Hamilton fandom. I'm trying. Really.  
> Please forgive me!

It was none other than February 14, and love was in the air. The youths of Miranda High engaged in shameless PDA on campus, kissing and hugging openly throughout the quad. It was the newer, fresher couples that were the worst, in other words, John and Alexander. 

Alexander was slightly embarrassed to be kissing John so openly in the middle of a school, but his boyfriend did not feel the same way. He was tender, loving, and unashamed.

But although John showered Alexander with affection on this day, the rest of the school did the opposite. Charles Lee was more aggressive than normal, no doubt remembering the December incident, and Samuel Seabury spent the whole day handing bible pamphlets out to every gay couple in the school. Even Eliza, although she tried to hide it, seemed a bit depressed on that day, watching the couple engage in affectionate exchanges. 

Only Peggy seemed to find the entire incident entertaining, quoting “beer, turtles, and Alexander,” every chance she had. 

“Depraved fujoshi,” Lee had told her once, scoffing. He reached over and grabbed one of Samuel’s bible pamphlets, throwing it at her face. Angelica had to hold her sisters back to keep them from assaulting him then and there.

It wasn’t until the end of the school day that the crowning incident took place: John presented Alexander with a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Lafayette glanced over at the box jealously, poking Hercules’s arm. 

“Where’s my chocolate?” he asked, half joking. His boyfriend blushed and scratched his head.

“Well, I was  _ planning  _ to wait until nobody was watching, but here, I guess,” Hercules said, reaching in his backpack for an even larger box of chocolates. “Here.”

Alexander laughed, but John seemed to take it as a capital offense, and the next day Alexander was presented with a bouquet of roses, practically the size of a small tree.

And so what was later dubbed by Peggy as the “War of Affections” began.


	21. I'm so, so sorry...

I'm sorry for making a promise I couldn't keep.

I'm sorry for updating so irregularly.

I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long between chapters.

And I'm sorry for the half-assed chapters that I _have_ been putting out. They're lazy and low-quality, born of nothing but my own procrastination until the last day.

I told you that I'd publish a better chapter today, but... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I keep messing up, procrastinating, and putting out bad writing. You all have been so kind to me, encouraging my writing. You deserve better than an irresponsible writer like me.

I've been trying to focus more on my schoolwork and social life lately, instead of holing myself up in my room to write fanfiction. It sounds pathetic, I know. I should be worrying about impressing all of you, not people who don't care about my work anyway.

But... I'm done making excuses. I'm going to admit it here. I'm a lazy, idiotic person who can't even write a good fanfic chapter. I don't deserve all of these kudos and hits I'm getting. I don't deserve your kind comments. I don't deserve any of your praise.

I want to get back to updating, I really do. I need to stop making excuses. I'm sorry. I swear, mark my words, that come Monday you'll have a great chapter. A decent length, well-written, fully edited chapter. I won't break a promise again. I swear.

I'm sorry for all of my mistakes.

I hope you can forgive me.

\--Krista


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew I actually did it lol  
> I've been re-motivated lately because I got to go see Hamilton yesterday :))  
> More about that in the end notes

“The War of Affections” was a rather overdramatic name for what was basically a series of gift competitions between John and Hercules. It went somewhat as follows: Hercules would show up to school with a present for Lafayette, and the next day, John would show up with a more extravagant version. Hercules would then complain that this was unfair, as John was rich, and Lafayette would say “Homemade is better, anyway.” Hercules would then show up the next day with a homemade creation of Lafayette, and John would show up with a homemade (but not as well-made) gift of the same type. John would then realize that he didn’t have Hercules’s sewing skills, give up, and the next day show up with something bought. 

And then the cycle began again.

Lafayette seemed to enjoy the shower of gifts, all lovingly created by a devoted boyfriend. Alexander had to admit, all of the gifts  _ were  _ pretty nice, and it felt good to know he was loved...at first. But he noticed that Hercules and John’s friendship had seemed to be breaking, ripping, ever so slightly. Bit by bit, their exchanges would grow slightly more aggressive, their glances at each other more glares than smiles. 

He could feel it. They were drifting apart, ever so slightly, not too noticeable when looking at it from a day-to-day perspective, but painfully obvious when one would compare the past interactions of the two with their interactions at the present. A crack had formed in the solid foundation of the group. It was a slight change, to be sure, but a series of these slight changes could easily make the difference between a small puncture and a gaping hole. 

Alexander knew he had to proceed carefully. If he said the wrong thing, he could make things worse, like letting a drop of water fall into the crack, freezing and expanding, making the crack bigger. If he began with praise, John would take it that his boyfriend enjoyed this “War of Affections”, but if he began too harshly, he would think Alexander was angry. He  _ wasn’t  _ angry, exactly… Just… 

Oh, who was he kidding? He  _ was  _ angry. He was pretty damn angry, in fact. Who did John think he was impressing, acting like that?! He wanted the tender, sweet turtle-loving geek he’d come to love, not the obsessive boy trying so hard to win the love he’d already been given.

And so Alexander decided to do something about it.

***

“John.”

Alexander grabbed his boyfriend’s hand right as he was about to climb into his car. John turned around, surprised. The shorter boy hadn’t talked to him for almost a week now, and finally he was calling him over. John would’ve been excited, but… he saw Alexander’s stormy expression and immediately knew this was serious. He waved to his chauffeur, telling him to wait, and turned away from his electric car. 

“We need to talk,” Alexander told him, pulling him by the arm towards the boys’ bathroom.

“Yeah, no kidding!” John exclaimed, grabbing his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Of course we need to talk! We haven’t talked for almost a week!”

Alexander was quiet, which was a rare occasion indeed. He led John into the empty bathroom and let go of his hand once they were both safely hidden away from view. He leaned in close to John’s face, his eyes burning with either passion, anger, or some mix of both. The freckled boy had always been better at telling the emotions of turtles than humans, earning him the moniker “Turtle-Whisperer” from Lafayette. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing with all this?!” Alexander’s words were harsh and pointed, pricking John’s heart like a thousand needles. “You think you can just buy me shit and automatically win my love? I mean, getting stuff is nice and all, but I’d rather just be with you. Y’know, hanging out with you and the group, like we used to…”

The truth hit John like a cold, hard bullet. Of course, he’d known that you couldn’t just buy someone’s love, but he hadn't known that there was such a thing as too many presents--after all, his turtles always liked getting new stuff. Why couldn’t humans just be more like turtles? That would make things easier.

“Oh--I’m sorry-”

Alexander sighed, as if it were too hard to stay angry at him.

“Ugh, it’s fine,” Alexander said, looking away so the other boy wouldn’t see him blush.

“Oh, okay… So we’re good?” John looked up hopefully before remembering Alexander was shorter than him and looking down. There was something about Alexander-- his presence, his general loudness, John supposed-- that made him keep assuming he was taller than him. It was the commanding aura he had, John decided-- the aura that grew more obvious when he was talking, whether it was a presentation, speech, or even just a chat with friends. He was just… a natural leader.

And the aura was growing stronger every day, getting stronger the more he learned. John loved it, having such a great boyfriend, and he could feel that great things were coming for him-- Alexander was like the sun to him, cliche as it might sound. He lit up all of John’s life, making it seem worthwhile. But little did John know that a cloud was approaching quickly… a showy, magenta one, in fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I went to see Hamilton in SF and it was amazing :)  
> I swear like halfway through the Jefferson/Lafayette guy looked right at me it was so weird and kind of scary, but he was really good and funny and I honestly think he did a better French accent than Daveed Diggs (Please don't kill me).  
> I got my playbill signed by most of the actors after that, including Hamilton's actor and Laurens' actor. It was really fun and a great experience overall.  
> I also went to a vegetarian restaurant nearby even though I don't eat vegetarian food usually, and they had really good samosas and fake bacon.   
> It was really fun finally seeing Hamilton, and meeting the SF actors and such. They were all super nice & talented!  
> It seemed like it was both the Hamilton guy and the Burr guy's last performances there. I'm really glad I was able to see them! The Burr guy got really emotional in the end of The World Was Wide Enough, he just like stood there and breathed into his mic for a few seconds, like he was trying to keep from crying. It was so sad :(  
> I was wearing a Marine Mammal Center hoodie and Andy Tofa asked me if I worked there and tbh I kinda wish I said yes just to see what would happen lol  
> Anyway, you were here for the chapter, not some weird life blog, lol. Sorry!  
> Bye, and thanks for reading! Please leave kudos and comment if you enjoyed this chapter of Looking For Turtles~  
> <3   
> \--Krista


	23. Chapter 23

As soon as Alexander set foot onto campus the next day, he noticed something was off. Instead of the usual scattering of people about the quad, all with their respective friend groups, there was just one clump of people near the middle, surrounding a table. Only Samuel Seabury remained in his usual spot, waving his bible pamphlets around at nobody.

He approached the table, glancing around for anyone he knew. He spotted Eliza some ways back, farther away from the table, but no Lafayette, Hercules, or John.

Taking a few more tentative steps towards the table, Alexander was able to tell what was happening. A boy in a magenta T-shirt who looked disturbingly like Lafayette lounged on a bench by the table, his hair loose and curly. Next to him was another boy, this one looking remarkably like Hercules, although the resemblance was much weaker due to the fact that unlike Hercules’s bold, carefree demeanor, this boy sat quietly behind the other and spoke only when it seemed like it would benefit the magenta-shirted boy.

It truly was a spectacle, watching the flamboyant young man wave at a gaggle of excited students. Alexander couldn’t see anything particularly “cool” about him; he just looked like your average high school student. The only thing that seemed at all different was his considerably overgrown ego. 

As he watched, the boy greeted students in the fashion that a celebrity would greet their fans. He shook their hands in an aloof way, as if he had better things to be doing than spending time with “the rabble”. He answered questions, gave them the token “yeah ok” smiles, and even signed stuff.

_ What the hell?!  _ Alexander was astonished. This was just some normal guy, the same age as them, and yet he was  _ signing autographs _ ?!

When the din of squealing students had died down a bit, the boy glanced around the quad, surveying everyone until his eyes landed on an unfamiliar face- Alexander. He sat back on the bench and motioned lazily over to Alexander, in the way a king would tell his subjects to rise, or an owner would call its dog over. Who the hell was this guy to treat everyone like his servants?!

When Alexander reached the bench, the boy looked over him, as if trying to size him up. When he was finished, he smirked and stood up.

“Hm, haven’t seen you before,” he said, grinning. It wasn’t a friendly grin, though, more like the threatening grin of a predator, stalking its prey.

“I could say the same to you.”

“Yes, but our reasons are real different,” the boy said, tugging at his T-shirt. He spoke with a strong Virginian accent. “Y’see,  _ I  _ don’t know  _ you _ because  _ you’re _ the new boy.  _ You  _ don’t know  _ me  _ because _ you’re _ an idiot.”

“Excuse me?!”

“...Thomas said that he didn’t know you because you’re new, and you don’t know him because you’re an idiot… is that difficult to comprehend?” The boy sitting behind Thomas finally spoke up, although perhaps that was the wrong way to say it. It was more like speaking down if anything else, his voice was quiet and cautious.

Thomas flung his arm around the boy’s shoulders, laughing. “Aw, c’mon, James,” he chuckled, “I’m just givin’ the guy a nice  _ welcoming _ .”

The boy called James looked like he was about to speak before a fit of coughing overtook him. Although it was likely not pleasant for James, or Thomas, who still had his arm on James’s shoulders, it was a stroke of good luck for Alexander, because the spectating crowd began to scatter while James coughed, yelling something about coronavirus.

He felt a hand grip his shoulder, and turned around to see Lafayette looking confused. 

“ _ Mon ami _ , what’s going on? Everyone’s yelling something about coronavirus? Eh-?!” Lafayette had looked behind Alexander to see Thomas and James sitting on the bench. His eyes widened. “Tom?!”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Thomas laughed, picking a piece of lint off of his shirt. He looked up at Lafayette. “It’s been a while, eh, Laf?”

Lafayette gulped. 

“Y-yeah, it sure has…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew I finished lol  
> I've been getting up at like 5:40 every morning to write for like 30 minutes before school, so I've been able to write at a more regular pace for you guys. I know this chapter's pretty short, sorry 'bout that, I forgot to work on it this morning lol  
> Sorry about that O///O
> 
> On another note, I'm glad to be back in the swing of things, going to see Hamilton live really motivated me again, heheh. I'm not sure when I'll be ending this fanfic, probably around April or May or so? I dunno exactly.  
> I kinda wanna start a danganronpa 1 fanfiction sometime soon (or 2, who knows lol)
> 
> Either Danganronpa or BNHA/MHA lol


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's kind of short, but at least it's on time and of reasonable quality lol

“Wait, so you’re saying that freakin’  _ Thomas Jefferson  _ just walks his magenta ass back into our school, sits around like royalty, and then-” Hercules’s voice was full of disbelief and incredulousness, his eyes narrowed as if he refused to believe it. “-he just--GRABS LAFAYETTE- _ my  _ Lafayette-like-” he put on a fake southern accent, “ ‘Ah, what’d ayyyyyyyye miss? Mah friend Laffy, I think I forgot where the bathroom was, ha ha, wanna show mah around?’ ”

Alexander had to make a conscious effort to refrain from laughing. Hercules was pretty good at faking voices (he could do a really convincing British accent), and if he tried, he could sound exactly like the person he was trying to sound like, but his Jefferson impression was more focused on mocking exaggeration than realism. He sounded more like a chicken on steroids than any human being.

“I mean, sorta?” Alexander whispered back, “It was more like ‘Hey Laf, I needa be refreshed on the locations of stuff here. Wanna show me around?’ than anything…”

Hercules glared at his desk. “Well, why didn’t he have that fucking Madison boy do it?!” he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the classroom. Their Calculus teacher, Mr. Lowe, glared over at them.

“Mr. Mulligan…” he said, approaching the desk. He slammed his palm onto the desk, leaning over to get on level with him. Hercules may have been tall, but Mr. Lowe was easily  _ at least  _ six foot five.

“Would you mind telling me what exactly someone didn’t… how did you phrase it? Have that effing Madison boy do it?” Mr. Lowe’s gray eyes were piercing and sharp, even through his white-framed rectangular glasses. and Hercules seemed at a loss for words. His mouth opened and the closed again, but nothing came out. Seeing that he couldn’t talk, Mr. Lowe turned his attention to Alexander. “Can  _ you _ tell me what he didn’t ‘have the effing Madison guy do’?”

“Er… well…” For once, Alexander couldn’t find words. He imitated Hercules, just opening and closing his mouth, although he was at least able to formulate a vaguely human(ish) sounding noise.

“Oh, Mr. Lowe,” a clear female voice rang out from the seat on Alexander’s other side. Alexander turned his head to see that Angelica, the eldest Schuyler girl, had risen from her seat. She smiled a flawless smile and, with a similar flawless poker face, said, “Oh, what Herc meant was ‘why didn’t he get the effing Madison guy to help him cheat?’ You see, we have reason to believe that Jefferson was planning to cheat on your next test- he has this class for fourth period, right?- and we were trying to figure out who his accomplice would be, the person he’ll cheat off of. I thought that it might be Sally-the poor girl does whatever he says-but Alexander and Hercules thought it’s James. And Hercules was so surprised to hear my idea that he yelled out, and I don’t blame him, it’s pretty far-fetched.”

“Y-yeah, that,” Alexander agreed, thankful for her intervention. 

“Hm. Well, thank you, Miss Schuyler, for informing me as to what happened, although I must admit I am somewhat skeptical as to the credibility of your claims. But-” Mr. Lowe’s eyes flashed with satisfaction, like a predator on a hunt… for an interesting situation. “It certainly does make things interesting, doesn’t it?”

Hercules shot up from his desk. “Mr. Lowe, I need to use the bathroom-”

Alexander did the same. “Y-yeah, me too!”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. Go ahead, it’s your problem if you end up failing my class.”

Angelica began walking out of the room as well, her salmon-colored top flowing as she walked. As soon as she got out of the classroom, she grabbed Alexander’s hand. “Come on, Alex. Herc, you come, too. Mr. Lowe’s onto us- the lie was just a temporary save.”

“Wait, so  _ is  _ he cheating?” Alexander asked, genuinely curious.

“Probably. I dunno. But by everyone’s reactions-they seemed pretty unsurprised- I’d think that we hit a correct answer.”

“So…?”

“So what I’m saying is… Mr. Lowe’s pretty good at getting to the bottom of things- he’ll find out for sure if he spends like two seconds looking into things. But he’ll probably forgive you for yelling, Herc-” she pointed at the boy, “If it turns out to be true. Alright, gotta go back to class.”

The two boys were left standing in the hallway, dumbfounded, as Angelica traipsed back to class, unruffled by the strange events.

They stood in silence for about two minutes before Hercules opened his mouth to say one word: “Damn…”

“How’d she come up with a plan that fast?”

Hercules chucked. “It wasn’t all  _ that  _ fast, we just sat there in silence for like thirty seconds before she saved us.”

“True…”

“You’re blushing.” 

“Am not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It still feels kind of surreal that over a hundred people left kudos on this work, it really makes me feel happy that you're enjoying my writing. I know that there are better fanfics out there, and I really appreciate that you all enjoy mine when you could be reading something way more interesting by someone who's a real author with actual credentials, since I'm just some random student who decided to start writing a fanfiction.  
> Thank you all so much for your support of my work, it really keeps me motivated to write more for all of you. I know that my updates have been somewhat irregular as of late, but I'm getting back into things and I hope you all enjoy.   
> Thank you all again for reading the latest chapter of Looking For Turtles!  
> <3


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's short sorry I've been busy with schoolwork

“Laf, what the hell?!” Hercules’s voice was loud and agitated, reverberating through the quad. People from nearby tables glanced over, glaring. 

“I’m telling you, Herc, Thomas isn’t that bad!”

John rolled his eyes. “...he kinda is,” he said quietly, loud enough that only Alexander could hear.

Alexander laughed.

“Look, either way, there’s no reason to get jealous,” Lafayette explained, losing his patience. “Maybe we used to be a thing, but that was  _ years  _ ago-- we were like, 15, or something. And I’m pretty sure he has someone now.”

Hercules’s eyes lit up at the prospect of new tea. “Oooh, who?”

“Dunno.”

He crossed his arms, pouting. “Awww, why’d you lead me on like that, then?”

“So you’d stop talking about this.”

“Okay, okay, fine.”

“Anyway,” John cut in, sensing the need for a new subject of conversation. “What’d you all get on Washington’s American Literature test?”

“ _ Mon ami,  _ you are aware that I do not have that class,” Lafayette said, sighing. “I am still in the English Learning class, remember?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.”

“Well, anyway, what did  _ you  _ get, Herc?” Alexander asked.

“I got a B, I think… like, about an eighty-eight or so.”

“Oh, good job. What’d you get, John?”

John scratched his head and blushed. He looked a bit sheepish. “Eh, it wasn’t all that good,” he said, “Just like, a low A, I think. Ninety-four or so.”

“Nice job!” Alexander reached up to give him a high five.

“Heh, thanks, Alex.” John scooted towards him on the bench, smiling. Alexander blushed and tightened the scarf John had given him back in December, trying to move it high enough that it covered his red cheeks.

“You cold?” John asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Well, yeah,” he said indignantly. “I grew up on a tropical island. I’d never seen snow before I came here.”

“Heh.” John scooted even closer, until their shoulders were touching. He flung his arms around his boyfriend, and Alexander flushed from both the sudden amount of heat on his body and the fact that he was being hugged by an extremely handsome boy. He felt his body warm, and he flung his own arms around John, hugging him back. He buried his face in John’s scarf, smiling. 

Alexander wasn’t sure how long he was in the embrace, but after what seemed like minutes, he heard a small cough from across the table. Hercules was laughing, while Lafayette sat there, enjoying the show.

“Oops,” John whispered, flushing a deeper shade of red.

“Hah, you guys are so cute,” Hercules teased, taking a bite of his school-bought chicken sandwich. He made a face. “Ew, this chicken feels like a hockey puck-”

“Well, they probably have about the same rubber content,” Lafayette said, reaching over to steal a bite. After chewing for a few seconds, he ran over to the trash can and spit it out. “Ah, you were right,  _ mon amour _ . Tastes like salted rubber.”

“Told you.”

“So, anyway,” Alexander started, turning back to John, “I was wondering if you could see if I could get a job at your dad’s pet store? I know he might not be the best person, but at least I’d be able to work with you.”

“Sure,” John answered, taking out his phone. He typed a quick message in to his dad. “I can get you an interview, at least.”

_ Ping!  _ John glanced down at his phone. The message read  _ Okay. 3:30 tomorrow? _

“Alright, three thirty tomorrow, be there early.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for reading, everyone. <3  
> I really appreciate all of you reading my chapters, and it still feels weird that there's over a hundred of you out there who enjoy it. It feels like yesterday when I had like 3 viewers- me, my sister, and her friend (the namesake of Haley the Turtle, in fact)  
> Speaking of Haley the Turtle, I should probably have some more Haley in here, since she did win the popularity poll lmao  
> Haley The Turtle= Best Girl  
> Oh, and if the actual Haley is here, shout out to you for being one of my first supporters, and shout out to my sister, @ChocolateAlmond, the creator of The Perfect Creme Brulle. Go check her writing out!  
> On the topic of shout-outs, I want to give a shout-out to @Fight_not_write, "Babe", @LonelyLamb, and @Miraculous_daughter_of_posiedon for being supportive of my work all the time. You were some of my first supporters and I still have a special place in my heart for you.  
> Also, I promised my friend King Cole the Dwarf that I'd give him a shout-out wherever I have the biggest following, so yeah. He doesn't even know what my account is, though, so... eh, whatever. Heheh.
> 
> EDIT: I also need to shout out iconicanasworld, username___here, Light_Jack, and everyone else leaving kudos and commenting on my work. You all mean so much to me <3


	26. yeah so

Yeah so

I said this wouldn't happen again but here we are .-.

I was at a writing convention called FogCon, it's really fun, and people who like writing and stuff go there from like all over California. I was there most of the weekend, so I didn't have a chance to work on my writing. Sorry 'bout that!

Also, I'm thinking about ending this fanfic soon because I feel like it's been going for too long and I haven't really gone anywhere good with it. I'm starting a Danganronpa fanfic next, probably. I'll probably have to build up a new fanbase for that because I don't think there's a lot of combined Danganronpa+Hamilton fans lmao

Eh, I don't really mind, though. I'll probably end this fanfic within the next like five chapters or so, so uhhh yeah ;-;

um

I may create another work and make this into a series if I feel like it (or if you guys yell at me) so uhh

yeah

idk


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's corona time for me but at least I can write more

“You’re late.” Those were the first words uttered by a stony-faced Mr. Laurens, sitting across from Alexander behind a mahogany desk. The desk had an odd sheen, as if it had been covered in some sort of glass finish. The man clasped his hands together, resting them on the desk, and glanced over to the boy standing behind Alexander.

“You can leave now, John,” he said simply, gesturing towards the door. John didn’t show any sort of reaction to his father’s curt words, glancing over at Alexander and winking. He flashed him a quick thumbs-up before leaving the room.

“Er,” Alexander started, wracking his brain. What was he supposed to say before a job interview, anyway? Something about how grateful he was for the opportunity? He took a deep breath, like John had told him, tugging at his favorite scarf- the one John had given him. The business owner sitting in front of him seemed to notice this and raised an eyebrow.

“Hm, that scarf looks familiar,” he said, eyeing it. Alexander wasn’t sure if he was genuinely curious about where it came from or if he already knew, although he was betting on the latter.

“Uh, hm, that's weird.”

“...anyway. So, Alexander, have you had any prior experience working?”

“Um, well, when I was about fourteen, I did some work on an island… y’know, just dealing with export files and such…”

Mr. Laurens raised his eyebrows. “Export files and such?”

“Yeah, like, keeping track of the trade with the island-- what was traded, where it went, what we got in return.”

The man’s eyes widened, and if Alexander didn’t know better, he might have even said that he seemed  _ impressed _ . “Hm. Very well. Have you had experience working with animals?”

“Not all that much. A few of my previous foster parents have had pets, and I was usually in charge of the not-so-fun parts-- cleaning up after them, feeding them, et cetera.”

“And what species were these pets?”

“Um, well, at one of my old ‘homes’, there was a dog… a pomeranian, I think… and then someone else had a rabbit… there was one family with a little hamster, a siberian, I think… and right now, the people I’m staying with have a turtle, which I actually got from this store.”

“Ah, you mean Haley, right?”

“Y-yeah…” Alexander gulped. Was this a bad sign? He seemed awfully quiet, and his eyes seemed almost disapproving. 

“Well, your experience with pets seems sufficient, at least, although you’ll have to go through training, of course…” he pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. “How well do you work with other people?”

“I work well with them if they work well with me.”

Mr. Laurens chuckled and took off his glasses briefly to wipe them with a small velvet cleaning cloth. “Well then,” he said, putting his glasses back on. “Have you had experience in the retail industry?”

“I worked at a PetSmart for a week or so.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Er,” Alexander started, unease filling him. “I sorta… got fired.”

“And why did you get fired?”

“...I yelled at a customer…”

“I see,” Mr. Laurens pushed his glasses up. “And why did you yell at said customer?”

“He was being obnoxious.”

The man sitting across from Alexander jotted something down on his notepad, muttering something that sounded like, “I’ll need to give him extra training.”

“Very well, you’re hired.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow our boi Henry has weird hiring standards kghufa;lhl  
> Sorry if I inaccurately portrayed a job interview, I've never been to one myself so I just had him ask a lot of questions lol sorry


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit early eh heheheh  
> So um, it may seem a bit rushed, but I feel like this is the right place.

It was about a month after Alexander's job interview, and spring had begun. It wasn't _warm_ yet, and it still snowed sometimes, but it had slowed down, until it only snowed about once every eight days. It was moderately okay in terms of temperature, about fifty degrees, usually. But despite the all-around mediocre conditions of the month, it was still Alexander's favorite time of the year, for one simple reason.

He got to be with John.

 _And that's all that matters,_ he thought to himself as he restocked the hamster food in aisle six. He snuck a glance over at John between bags of food, looking through the shelf into aisle seven. The whole spying-through-the-bookshelf thing might have been _just a bit_ cliché, sure, but it _wasn't_ a bookshelf, it was a pet store shelf, and he wasn't _spying_ , anyway. He was just... observing.

He watched as John restocked cat toys in aisle seven, fully concentrating on his work. His soulful brown eyes were narrowed with concentration, focused only on the job in front of him, and Alexander resisted the urge to call out, make himself known. He wanted those eyes to look directly at _him_ , not a bag of catnip.

"Hey."

John glanced over at Alexander through the bookshelf, his lips forming a smile. His eyes twinkled, even more beautiful when directed at the one he loved. 

"Oh, hi, John," Alexander said, looking down at a bag of hamster food. Even though he'd been with John for quite some time, he still felt a bit embarrassed to be caught staring.

"Y'know I knew you were looking at me, right?"

"You did?!"

John laughed, his eyes scrunching up and crinkling at the corners. It was an expression of pure joy, happiness, and nothing else. It wasn't tainted by a bit of anxiety hanging in the back of the mind, or clouded by other thoughts. He was just... happy. Happy to be with Alexander. 

"Yeah, I did. But it's okay," he said, looking up at the clock. "We can take a break."

"Okay."

The two met up in aisle seven, Alexander taking off his nametag and throwing it into his backpack. John did the same, if not a bit more carefully, so as not to damage the nametag. He grabbed Alexander's hand. 

"Hey, you know what today is?"

Alexander wracked his brain for the date. He knew it was March, but March _what_? And what was important about this day?

"Um..." he started, looking around the store for any clues. If it was a holiday, there'd surely be some kind of decoration around somewhere. _March holidays,_ he thought, _um...._ "Saint Patrick's Day?"

"...that's the seventeenth."

"Pi day?"

"That's the fourteenth."

Alexander fiddled with the fringe of his favorite (and only) scarf, before finally sighing and giving up. "I dunno, tell me!"

"...as of today," John stated, grabbing Alexander's hand. "We've been together for exactly three months."

"Wait, really?"

"Yep!" John beamed, turning around but not letting go of Alexander's hand. "C'mon, I wanna take you somewhere."

Alexander followed, expecting to be headed to John's car, or at least out of the petstore, but to his surprise, John stopped right at aisle two- TURTLES AND AQUATIC ANIMALS. Alexander's breath caught in his throat as a wave of nostalgia hit him like a truck.

"This is..."

"Yep. This is where we first met, huh?"

He blushed, looking up at the boy he had come to love. Soulful brown eyes, a tall frame, and a smattering of freckles- each part of him was just as wonderful as the last. Everything about him was beautiful, but the best part was his heart. He was caring, sweet, and sensitive- protective if needed, but a gentle and kind boyfriend. 

"It's already been so long..." Alexander muttered, lost in thought.

"Sure has."

"It makes me a bit sad... what if we have to break up?"

John slipped his arm around Alexander's waist, pulling him into an embrace. "We don't have to think about that."

"Yeah..."

"For now, as far as we know, we'll be together... always and forever."

"Always... and... forever..." Alexander repeated the words like a magic spell, his eyes trained on the turtle tank where Haley had been stored before she took up residence in the Tachibana household. Haley had been the catalyst, he supposed- the thing that triggered event after event, causing this wonderful relationship to begin. "Always... and... forever..."

It was all because of his family- the Tachibanas, who may not have seemed the best at first, but in the end supported him more than his real parents had.

It was because of Lafayette and Hercules, for helping them all the way, and supporting their relationship.

It was because of that fateful time and place Alexander had happened to be, because of what Mai had wanted.

It was because he'd been looking for turtles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every story has a destined end, I like to believe. If it feels like someone's story is over, it's time to end it. I never planned for this to drag on forever, although I didn't plan for it to be this short, either. But I suppose fate has spoken, and it's time for me to end this. I enjoyed the time in the spotlight, all of the kind words and kudos. I enjoyed writing this story, and I grew a lot as a writer, I like to believe. I have one final poll for all of you before I say my farewells to this story and possibly everyone who read it. The other fandoms I am into have little to no overlap, mostly anime and video games like Danganronpa. But here it is, anyway.  
> https://linkto.run/p/SQXDWG68  
> Now goodbye, everyone, and thank you for accompanying me on this writer's journey,  
> Krista


End file.
